Aerial Display Method Using a Flying Screen and Long Range Dynamic Projection Mapping

In recent years, technologies that enable visual representation of images in the air, such as drone art, have been gaining attention. However, drone art requires the use of hundreds of light-equipped drones, which are extremely costly and difficult to use for small-scale events. In order to realize an aerial display at low cost with fewer drones, we propose an aerial display method using dynamic projection mapping with a high-brightness projector and a screen suspended from a drone. The proposed method consists of a screen structure suitable for suspension from a drone, an infrared marker structure that enables estimation of the center of the screen, and a center estimation method based on the marker. To evaluate the proposed method, we conducted a proof-of-concept experiment using a simple laser projector and an experiment using a high-brightness projector to project an image onto a dynamic screen at a distance. The results of the experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of the aerial display with our proposed method.