Gushed Diffusers:
Fast-moving, Floating, and Lightweight Midair Display
Ippei Suzuki1∗ Shuntarou Yoshimitsu2
Keisuke Kawahara1
Nobutaka Ito3
113
Atsushi Shinoda
Akira Ishii
Takatoshi Yoshida
Yoichi Ochiai1
123
University of Tsukuba Waseda University The University of Tokyo
(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 1. (a)(b) Wearable usage as an application example of our system. (c) Showing a dolphin. (d) We employ aerosol distribution from off-the-shelf
spray as a fog screen.

ABSTRACT

We present a novel method for fast-moving aerial imaging
using aerosol-based fog screens. Conventional systems ofaerial imaging cannot move fast because they need large andheavy setup. In this study, we propose to add new tradeoffs between limited display time and payloads. This system
employ aerosol distribution from off-the-shelf spray as a fog
screen that can resist the wind, and have high portability. As
application examples, we present wearable application andaerial imaging on objects with high speed movements suchas a drone, a radio-controlled model car, and performers. We
believe that our study contribute to the exploration of newapplication areas for fog displays and expand expressions ofentertainments and interactivity.
Author Keywords

Display; fog screen; multicopter; entertainment;
communication.
ACM Classification Keywords

H.5.1. Information Interfaces and Presentation: Multimedia
Information Systems
INTRODUCTION

generated by fog machine. Han and Perlin [1] use dust-likeparticles. Tanikawa and Suzuki [3] use falling water drops.
These studies aimed to realize large, and long time projection. However, their system can not be installed on drone orwearable usage and used in moving situation because theytend to be large and heavy.
In this paper, we employ aerosol distribution from the offthe-shelf spray as diffusers (Figure 1 (c)(d)). We propose toadd new tradeoffs between limited display time and payloads.
Using aerosol distribution from spray has two merits.
• Because of its high distribution speed, the system and projected image can be moved, and has high wind-tolerance.
• We enable the whole system to be lightweight and compact
because our system consists of several small components.
Furthermore, we present applications that utilize benefitsof our aerosol-based display: high refresh rate (approximately raise time 0.5 s, disappearance 0.4 s), small size andlightweight (approximately 600 g all package), high tolerance
for wind (approximately 10 m/s).
SYSTEM OVERVIEW

1heisuzuki@gmail.com

Figure 2 (left) illustrates the overview of our basic setup system and data-flow diagram. This setup includes the off-theshelf aerosol spray, the laser portable-projector, servomotors
for operating the spray, embedded computers, a mirror controlled by the servomotor, a battery, and a frame on whichthese components are mounted. The minimum weight ofwhole system is around 600 g (when we use balsa woods forframes). The frames of our display systems were fabricatedwith a laser cutter. Assembled system of basic setup is shownin Figure 2 (middle). System setup is changed depending on
the application.

This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Notfor redistribution.
Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).
UIST’16 Adjunct, October 16-19, 2016, Tokyo, Japan
ACM 978-1-4503-4531-6/16/10.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2984751.2985706Aerosol spray: An off-the-shelf aerosol spray which aims atcooling human’s body is used as a projection medium in ourbasic setup. It consists of isopentane (47 ml) and liquefied

Numerous approaches of midair image-projection have been
investigated. In these techniques, the screen is usually filledwith small objects of a material that can passively reflect projected or environmental light. The fog screen [2] uses fog∗⑥Mirror⑦⑥Mirror①Spray③Laser projector
Video signal⑦Servo④Raspberry Pi②ServoNozzle Actuator

USB serial
Pin conector⑤Arduino④Raspberry Pi

Pin conector①Spray②Servo③Projector⑤Arduino

Figure 2. Left: System overview and data-flow diagram. Middle: System appearance of our basic setup (acrylic plates version). These parts wereformed with a laser cutter. Right: Application example - a radio-controlled model car with our system.

Figure 3. Floating screen with projection (showing a morpho butterfly) under the drone (DJI Phantom 2; DJI Co., Ltd.).

petroleum gas (LPG). Because these are high-volatility ingredients, they do not remain on surfaces of objects like floors orwalls. Many typical off-the-shelf sprays like antiperspirant
sprays tend to include many ingredients and additives. Someof these ingredients remain on surfaces of objects and complicate the cleanup after using the system. Because audiences
will experience unpleasant sensations in such case, we employ the spray for cooling human’s body.
Spray actuator: Two servomotors are used to gush aerosolout automatically with a plate to push the spray nozzle. They
are fixed on each side of the spray on the frame. The plate
made of acrylic board is designed to push the nozzle down
by fitting the form of the nozzle. This part is designed to be
removable from the assembled state of whole system. Therefore, we can exchange the spray quickly and easily.
APPLICATIONS

Floating or fast moving midair display: We fabricated aprototype of the application installed on a drone, as shown in
Figure 3. The system can be installed on a small drone easily
because the weight of our system is around 600 g at the smallest including all components. Drone can compensate for thenarrow viewpoint of our system by adjusting angles of display because the drone can move in any direction and rotate
in the horizontal plane. If the drone is controlled dependingon the position of observers, they can always see an image.
Further, we also can install our system on a radio-controlledmodel car, as shown in Figure 2 (right). We can show anaerial image instantly by using our system. This will attract
the attention of the viewers.
Wearable use and user interaction: We present wearable
uses of our system as a proof of concept on advantages of themovability and lightweight. For the first example, we presententertainment uses. Our system could be installed on the backof the performer. If we use a conventional fog screen, the performer can not move swiftly, as it cause air movement which
can distort the fog screen. A large 2D display may be used

as a wearable display, however, it is too heavy to wear thedisplay, and the results will be unsatisfactory. For anotherwearable example, we can communicate visually with otherpeople using our system. People can project aerial images
over their heads and communicate by using these images in
the real world with others as shown in Figure 1 (a)(b). In a
television program like a quiz-show, people can express theirwonder with an overhead exclamation point image that is produced by our system. Conventional similar systems use only
sound or fastened screens to express feelings. In contrast, we
can send both various visual and audible messages. Therefore, we can evolve styles of communication in the real world.
DISCUSSION

The aerosol may get into a persons eyes or mouth directly depending on the style of use. In addition, the environmental
impact of the system should be considered. Another problem
regarding safety is that the spray is flammable. If our system is used in a fire scene, the spray could ignite or cause anexplosion. Moreover, careful attention should be taken whenusing the system with real fire of stage effects, such as a flamemachine.
REFERENCES

1. Han, J., and Perlin, K. Volumetric display with dust as theparticipating medium, June 24 2004. WO Patent App.
PCT/US2003/038,976.
2. Rakkolainen, I., DiVerdi, S., Olwal, A., Candussi, N.,
Hüllerer, T., Laitinen, M., Piirto, M., and Palovuori, K.
The interactive fogscreen. In ACM SIGGRAPH 2005
Emerging Technologies, SIGGRAPH ’05, ACM (NewYork, NY, USA, 2005).
3. Tanikawa, T., and Suzuki, Y. Display composed of waterdrops for filling space with materialized virtual
three-dimensional objects. In Virtual Reality Conference,
2006 (March 2006), 159–166.