Vision-based markerless tracking in an augmented reality application for a signboard aided-design system

In most cities in Taiwan, electronic signboards can be seen everywhere. Advertising signboards for stores are becoming more common, larger, and more noticeable in order to attract more attention. The harmony between outdoor signboards and the surrounding environment has long been ignored by local residents. Because of the urban aesthetics of absence, outdoor signboards have come to be treated as visual pollution. In this paper, we focus on vision-based markerless tracking [7] in an augmented reality (AR) [4] [5] [6] application as part of a signboard aided-design system. We present an AR framework that uses simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) [8] to approach an AR scene as realistically as a photographic image. Two AR systems are developed as demonstration examples: a signboard design photo-image storage system and a signboard display system. The project is developed using 3D computer graphics technologies, including a visual SLAM [9] algorithm, tessellation shader technology, and editable 3D textures with an embedded image approach. With the features of 3D relief signboard displays and a measurable landscape, the system helps signboard designers to improve their signboards by recognizing the influence of environmental factors. Consequently, the aided design system offers a path toward environmental harmony for designers by facilitating the pre-production process using mobile AR.