Chapter 3. Marker-less Augmented Reality

In this chapter readers will learn how to create a standard real-time project using OpenCV (for desktop), and how to perform a new method of marker-less augmented reality, using the actual environment as the input instead of printed square markers. This chapter will cover some of the theory of marker-less AR and show how to apply it in useful projects.

The following is a list of topics that will be covered in this chapter:

• Marker-based versus marker-less AR

• Using feature descriptors to find an arbitrary image on video

• Pattern pose estimation

• Application infrastructure

• Enabling support for OpenGL visualization in OpenCV

• Rendering the augmented reality

• Demonstration

Before we start, let me give you a brief list of the knowledge required for this chapter and the software you will need:

• Basic knowledge of CMake. CMake is a cross-platform, open-source build system designed to build, test, and package software. Like the OpenCV library, the demonstration project for...