Zanzibar Scans Objects and Brings them into Virtual Reality

For games and toys, certainly,  but also for design of objects and how they live in spaces.  And more,

Microsoft’s object-detecting playmat brings toys to life
Project Zanzibar looks like more than a kids toy. ....

David Lumb, @OutOnALumb  in Engadget




"...Zanzibar is a 'sensing platform' that combines capacitive sensing to track finger movements with Near Field Communication (NFC) to detect objects. It's also flexible, both literally and systematically: Just hook it up to any tablet or screen and unroll the mat, and you're ready to go. It can sense objects simply by placing an NFC sticker on their bottoms, which tracks them spatially and even vertically, identifying distinct items stacked on top of each other. .." 

Youtube video demonstration.

Not yet available, a UK MS Research project.   Paper on its use and development.