Atomu is an Augmented Reality installation that allows people to dissect and view human organs through touching the physical interface in 3D. The installation supports a life size human figure covered by deformable fabric, and the visual content is projected onto the fabric from behind.

Behind the elastic fabric - on which interactive graphics are projected - there are 12 proximity sensors installed to track user's hand movement. Depending on how deep the users press into the fabric, the depth data is collected and sent to Processing, to select the section views of the human body at the corresponding depth.

After its debut at the ITP Winter Show 2016, Atomu received many exciting feedback from visitors. It was also selected to attend the exhibition at New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), during its STEM Night event.

Hundreds of high school students came to NYSCI during the exhibit, and I had the chance to teach them the technology I used to build this installation.

To create a image database for the interface, 3D models of human organs are first sliced and rendered into 22 discrete layers, using the Maya software.

Using computer-aided fabrication tools, I constructed an almost human-sized rigid wooden frame to support the deformable tactile interface.