Results: Disney Turns Coloring Into 3D Experience

If television is considered punishment for kids these days, I can only imagine that traditional coloring books are pure torture. Lucky for the tech-savvy tyke, Disney Research has developed a new augmented reality app that lets coloring books characters leap from the page and into your kids' world. When little Johnny, for instance, colors an elephant on a physical book page, a tablet or smartphone running the Disney app monitors the drawing. Essentially drawing with Johnny, the program fills in colors in real-time on an animated 3D version of the animal. "Augmented reality holds unique and promising potential to bridge between real-world activities and digital experiences, allowing users to engage their imagination and boost their creativity," said Robert Sumner, a principal scientist leading the group on animation and interactive graphics at Disney Research. Initially tested with adults, researchers found most users were more motivated to color if they could watch their creation come to life; 80 percent said the app increased their feeling of connection to a character. A team of seven Disney Research scientists, along with folks from Switzerland's EPFL and ETH Zurich, joined Sumner to create this new experience. Working backwards through dimensions, the researchers created animated 3D virtual characters, which were then transformed into 2D line-art presentations for the coloring book. The accompanying iOS and Android apps use the paired device's camera to watch the coloring book. As Johnny applies color to the 3D drawing, the application does the same to its 3D character. The process is much harder than it sounds: The researchers must take into account different angles of the image—color on the front of a face will be different from the back of a head. The effort is still in the early stages, but it inspired the Disney Color and Play app, which is available for iPhone and iPad.