Virtual Sculpture

For this installation, which anticipated augmented reality, a Fresnel lens and a semi-transparent mirror were mounted on a monitor mounted on a tripod. Viewers could turn and tilt the monitor and, looking through the mirror, discover various simple, computer-generated virtual objects floating in front of them at various points in real space.
The optical method is based on an illusion technique called "Pepper's Ghost", which dates back to the 16th century. It is updated in the Virtual Sculpture by using a video image and a Fresnel lens to change the focal length so that the image appears several metres away when viewed through the semi-transparent mirror. The system's rotation and tilt functions then allow these virtual images to be physically distributed around the viewer - a virtual reality paradigm inspired by Ivan Sutherland's 'Sword of Damocles' (1968).
An Apple II computer was used for the installation, with game paddles connected to the monitor to register tilting and rotating movements. The projected images showed simple wireframe objects slowly rotating.