Deformable projectors

[treddie]

A feature request for something I don't know anyone else has ever done before. Maybe Otoy can be the first!

It would first require Octane to support projectors in general. But the idea is deformable projectors. An example would be a cylindrical projector that can be deformed in certain ways according to functions, like first being squashed into an elliptical cylinder, then the elliptic crossection is bent. This would allow fairly basic projections that can follow more elaborate meshes in a way that is quick and efficient, and accurate enough to look realistic. Or a cylindrical projector bent into a torus. And a deformable projector based on a cubic b-spline would be awesome. You could take a spherical projector and cause it to follow a freeform mesh pretty darn closely.

[profbetis]

Is this sort of projector the same as a real life projector? Like a light-throwing display with a texture as a screen? Or is this a name for some mapping technique?

Either one sounds useful

[treddie]

Mapping technique.