00:00 [Music]
00:12 Projection mapping is a technique for displaying images on walls, buildings or any kind of surface.
00:18 It's firmly established in the world of entertainment,
00:23 but now new applications are being found in other fields.
00:27 [Music]
00:30 This is Route 45, the major coastal highway through the Tohoku region.
00:35 [Music]
00:40 A large-scale tunnel is currently under construction.
00:44 [Music]
00:52 Explosives are used to carve the tunnel's path through the rock.
00:57 [Music]
00:59 Before each set of explosive charges is placed,
01:02 the rock face is sprayed with concrete to prevent collapses and to ensure worker safety.
01:08 When deciding where to set charges and how much explosive to use,
01:14 engineers need an accurate picture of the condition of the rock face.
01:18 They couldn't do this at the rock face since it was hidden under the concrete.
01:24 [Music]
01:31 Previously, we had to make calculations off-site
01:34 to estimate where the rock face was hard and where it was soft
01:38 in order to distribute the explosives suitably.
01:41 There were often conflicting opinions leading to less than ideal results.
01:45 Projection mapping turned out to be the solution to their problem.
01:51 [Music]
01:55 The rock face is measured before applying the concrete coating.
01:58 This data is used to create an image for projecting on the surface.
02:02 [Music]
02:06 Softer rock is shown in red and harder rock in blue.
02:12 [Music]
02:16 Visual aid makes it easy for engineers to place fewer charges in the softer areas,
02:21 increasing accuracy and effectiveness.
02:24 [Music]
02:30 Using projection mapping gives us far more precise control over blasting operations.
02:35 Now we don't have to worry about blasting away too much rock or too little.
02:40 It's really made our work much more efficient.
02:44 [Music]
02:46 The first of its kind in the world, this new technology makes the work of tunnelling much safer.
02:52 [Music]
02:56 Projection mapping is also revolutionising the medical world.
03:00 [Music]
03:03 Conventionally, surgeons refer to a monitor displaying the location of the part to be removed.
03:10 As they operate, they must keep switching their gaze between monitor and scalpel.
03:15 [Music]
03:20 In another world first, projection mapping has solved this problem too.
03:26 First, an infrared camera identifies the affected part.
03:30 [Music]
03:32 Using this data, an image is projected onto the part to show exactly where to cut.
03:40 The surgeon's eyes never leave the scalpel.
03:44 [Music]
03:50 In this model of a body part, the area illuminated in blue is to be removed.
03:56 Living organs are always moving, but the scanning camera precisely follows these movements.
04:02 [Music]
04:04 The time lag between movement and projected image is just 0.2 seconds,
04:09 meaning the surgeon sees things in close to real time.
04:13 [Music]
04:16 With projection mapping, we simply cut the areas illuminated by blue light and don't touch those that aren't.
04:23 This is making my field of liver surgery much safer.
04:29 Projection mapping has already had a huge impact on the world of entertainment.
04:34 In Japan, it's now been taken a step further and is transforming operating rooms and construction sites.
04:42 [Music]
04:50 (bell chimes)
04:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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