ECE 477: Digital Systems Senior DesignLast Modified: 08/22/2018
Initial Project Proposal
Year: 2018Semester: FallProject Name: Ghost Hub
Creation Date: May 9, 2018Last Modified: Aug 22, 2018
Team Members (#1 is Team Leader):
Member 1: Nathan ChowEmail:
Member 2: Twyla GraberEmail:
Member 3: Marcus HartonEmail:
Member 4: Cheyenne MartinezEmail:
1.0 Description of Problem:
Industry leaders are developing virtual workspaces and VRchat in order to connect its users. The problem with virtual reality can be narrowed down to its cost, mobility, and usability. The cost is linked with the necessary hardware, namely a high spec computer and head-gear; a combination which commands a heavy price. The lack of mobility links back to the hardware of wired head-gear connected to a computer. Lastly, the detriments of virtual reality usability are linked to the latency and motion sickness the users experience when using the system. Augmented reality suffers from similar issues, specifically the need for headgear. Both of these systems also suffer from the fact that for a group to be able to use the platform they all need the same hardware. This may be possible for smaller groups, but it is unrealistic for larger gatherings.
2.0 Proposed Solution:
Our system proposes using the same graphics except it will take it out of virtual reality and bring it into physical space. Utilizing the optical illusion “Pepper’s Ghost” [1], our team is proposing to use a holographic illusion displayed by a cleverly designed prism. Our system, called Ghost Hub, is a peer to peer interaction system that utilizes Bluetooth technology to communicate. Each user will have a smartphone or laptop which connects to a hub.The hub will relay information between the devices that will be displayed on the prisms. The system will be multi-platform and be able to accommodate different devices (tablets, laptops, and smartphones). The hub is in charge of the data translation, and the interface is an app that works in conjunction with the prism design.
The prism can project the object in question onto the prism so it is visible in all three dimensions. Anyone with a smartphone and a prism will be able to interface with this system which solves the cost factor. Mobility is also solved given the users only need one hub and one of the devices listed above. Usability is achieved by scaling down from virtual reality by removing the body’s necessity to acclimate to the virtual environment while still maintaining some functionality of 3-dimensional models. In the case of large group gatherings, the size of the prism needs to be scaled up to where all the users can see it; however, there is no need for everyone to have a system.
3.0 ECE 477 Course Requirements Satisfaction
3.1 Expected Microcontroller Responsibilities
The microcontroller will be used to interface the different devices and connect the devices in order to fulfill the functionality required, whether it be presentations, advertising, or gaming. Specifically, the microcontroller will be in charge of interfacing various devices, device priority, function command lookup, and controller input processing. We will be using the UART protocol to communicate with a Bluetooth device. The Bluetooth device will be in charge of communicating with different devices by connecting and disconnecting the various devices according to the designed protocol. We will design a state machine based protocol programmed onto the flash to manage the connections between all the devices.
3.2 Expected Printed Circuit Responsibilities
The PCB responsibilities is to incorporate a microcontroller, external memory, power supply, regulation circuitry, and serial port connections to Bluetooth hardware.
4.0 Market Analysis:
Not much market data is available concerning systems which utilize the Pepper'sGhost illusion. Notable mentions are the Walt Disney Company and Coachella Music and Arts Festival. Our group is specifically looking to solve issues related to virtual reality and emulate functionalities of virtual reality systems. According to Statista [2], from 2014-2018 virtual reality users grew from 200k users to 171 million users. The largest jump occurred in 2017-2018 where the number of active users jumped from 90 million to 171 million. Industry leaders such as Facebook (Oculus), Microsoft (Hololens) , Google (DayDream), Samsung (GearVR), and HTC (Vive) are all developing virtual reality. Our system does not compete with virtual reality but complements it by supplementing its weaknesses.
5.0 Competitive Analysis:
5.1 Preliminary Patent Analysis:
Most patents relating to our project are patents on methods to implement the Pepper’s Ghost prism or ways to optimize the display. Other patents are focused on functionalities concerning holographic displays.
5.1.1 US Patent Application US8847919 B2:
Patent Title: “Interactive holographic display device”
Patent Holder: Apple Inc.
Patent Filing Date: September 30th, 2014
This patent [3] assigned to Apple utilizes optical sensors and beams of light to track the position of the user’s hands. Depending on which beams of light the user is blocking, the optical sensors can use Euclidean space calculations to find where the user’s hands are in 3D space. This method is great for simulating input devices such as keyboards or controllers using nothing but light; the drawback is that there is no haptic or physical feedback for the user. For our idea of holograms this has application, but the strategic placement of the beams of light for position identification would be tricky. Positioning of the hologram and the tracking light would be especially difficult.
5.1.2 US Patent Application US8692738 B2:
Patent Title: “Advanced Pepper's ghost projection system with a multiview and multiplanar display”
Patent Holder: Disney Enterprises Inc.
Patent Filing Date: April 8th, 2014
This patent [4] assigned to Disney utilizes the Pepper’s Ghost illusion, but it uses special lighting and optic techniques to optimize it for their purpose. This specific patent is an implementation which they believe best simulates a ghostly image. In all honesty, this design is extremely complex and my zero background in optics makes this especially difficult to understand. This does not have much relation to our project given we are not attempting to optimize the prism to such an extent.
5.2 Commercial Product Analysis:
Most of the products available on the market are targeted at a small niche. None of them are for the general public.
5.2.1 Commercial Product #1: “Haunted Mansion Ride”
This product [5] utilizes the Pepper’s Ghost effect to simulate an actual ghost. This implementation is geared to entertain park goers. The very specific functionality of this product is what sets this product apart from our design. The purpose and functionality of the system and implementation of Disney’s design when compared to our is very different. The pros about the Haunted Mansion ride is that the image is optimized using a plethora of optics and lighting techniques, but the con is that it is tailored to only a single purpose.
5.2.2 Commercial Product #2: “Display Graphic for DUB-Russel
This product [6] is a Pepper’s Ghost illusion display that reacts to the different actions of the DJ. This product could potentially be sold to other DJs, but the market it appeals to is still much smaller. This product also requires a stage designed to perform a large scale implementation of the Pepper’s Ghost illusions. This product ports the hardware of a midi controller to the graphics. The cons of this design is that it is not dynamic. The same adjustments to the midi controller will enact the same graphics effect.
5.2.3 Commercial Product #3: Multi-User Hologram Table
The hologram table [7] is a table that uses traditional holograms paired with glasses. The problem with this product is the mobility and cost. The cost of the hologram table is likely to be much more than a typical virtual reality set up, and it has even less mobility. The only benefit to a VR system is that not all users need a system to interact, and there will be not motion or latency sickness. The pros is that in terms of hologram design it is very dynamic and very versatile because it can load up many different images. Also the image compared to virtual reality is just as good if not better, which compared to our product image is noticeable degraded.
5.3 Open Source Project Analysis:
Most of these projects are not formally licensable. They are mainly project produced by people who are interested in Pepper’s ghost. Only one of these sources is a formal paper written with posted code.
5.3.1 Open Source Project #1: Pepper’s Cone: An Inexpensive Do-It yourself display
The open source project [8] is a method to optimize the image produced using the Pepper’s Ghost illusion. It utilizes a cone instead of a prism and morphs the image in the display screen so that they appear larger using the curvature of the cone. This is extremely relevant to our project because we want to make the object in the display as visible and large as possible to optimize the visibility. This project also explores using different colors in order to improve the images quality and tests different methods to improve the display.
5.3.2 Open Source Project #2: KainosSoftwareLtd: Pepper's Ghost Pyramid
The project [9] explores different ways to move the object in Pepper’s Ghost in order to optimize the image. It rotates the image in a way that makes the image seem clearer inside of the prism. This is also extremely relevant given we want to optimize our image. The issue would be attempting to animate the object, utilizing this technique would make animation and object movement quite difficult.
5.3.3 Open Source Project #3:
The open source project [6] ties images and animations to the different hardware callbacks of a midi controller. It utilizes the Pepper’s Ghost illusion but at an extremely large scale and is designed for an entire stage. This project would be relevant if we can scale it down for our prism and we can also observe how they tied the animations and movements up with the midi controller hardware.
6.0 Sources Cited:
[1]T. B. G. Jr, “Pepper's Ghost,” American Association of Physics Teachers, Aug. 24, 2011. [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 22-Aug-2018].
[2] “Active virtual reality users worldwide 2014-2018,” Statista. [Online]. Available: [Accessed: May 14, 2018].
[3] “US8847919B2 - Interactive holographic display device,” Google Patents. [Online]. Available: patents 3D. [Accessed: May 14, 2018].
[4]“US8692738B2 - Advanced Pepper's ghost projection system with a multiview and multiplanar display,” Google Patents. [Online]. Available: ghost. [Accessed: May 14, 2018].
[5]J. Baham, “How Disney Upgrades The Haunted Mansion to Scare New Generations of Fans,” Gizmodo, Sep. 04, 2014. [Online]. Available: [Accessed: May 14, 2018].
[6]K. Takahashi, “Mirage,” GitHub, Mar. 29, 2016. [Online]. Available: [Accessed: May 14, 2018].
[7]Euclideon Holographics. [Online]. Available: [Accessed: May 14, 2018].
[8]X. Luo, J. Lawrence, and S. Seitz, “Pepper's Cone: An Inexpensive Do-It-Yourself 3D Display,” GitHub. [Online]. Available: [Accessed: May 14, 2018].
[9] A. Kainos, “Hologram Pyramid,” GitHub, Jul. 25,2017. [Online]. Available: [Accessed: May 14,2018].
Appendix 1: Concept Sketch
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