Researchers at Brown University in the U.S. have created Portal-ble, a portable augmented reality format in which users can interact with both virtual and real objects with their hands.
Seen through the phone (images below), which coffee is real? Actually, both cups are virtual. And the chair with the red seat is virtual, but the other furniture is real (physical).
An infrared sensor mounted on the phone tracks the hand so you can grab and manipulate virtual objects. The system automatically helps users better perceive depth, judge how to grasp objects, and manpulate them, by overcoming our innate human imprecision and tracking inaccuracies.
The research team used Leap Motion attached to the back of a phone using a 3D-printed mount. The Leap Motion is connected to an Intel compute stick that wirelessly transmits hand positions to the phone.
