Marker Concealment Using Print Color Correction and Its Application

Abstract

The markers used in the marker-based Augmented Reality have disadvantages that they are heterogeneous in their surroundings and difficult to detect in a dark environment. Therefore, it is necessary to study the markers that can be identified even in dark situations. We analyzed the studies that supplemented the weakness of markers and created new markers. In this method, it is produced by overlapping printing of markers and pictures based on the fact that infrared images vary depending on the type of printer. However, the printed color was darker than the original one, because the marker and the color of the picture were becoming a subtractive mixture. In order to reduce the color difference and to show a similar color, it is required to correct the picture color of the marker part and the picture color of the non-marker part. The color correction was processing by comparing the combined result of Printer-A RGB color code on the top of markers pressed by Printer-B and the sole result of Printer-A RGB color code. As a result, the color difference between the marker, the overlapping part of the picture and the picture part was reduced, and the marker was concealed so that it was not visible to the eye. The concealed markers are able to replace existing invisible markers and can be detected in dark environments. In particular, since the marker concealment method uses original ink or toner without modifying a general printer, it can be easily manufactured. Besides, given that printing work is done by a printer, it is possible to mass-produce uniform quality markers. In this paper, we evaluated and analyzed the results of user evaluation to check the effectiveness of markers. The assessment was conducted by using the application program which was made with and without the concealed marker method. The survey results showed that there was a positive response to the AR content with the concealed marker and the rejection of the concealed marker decreased compared to the existing markers.