The 3D virtual reality headgear that projects a digital image into real-life environments Canon's Mixed Reality headwear can beam digital images into real-life environments The images appear in 3D to the scale they've been designed for Wearers can then walk around the projections and see it at different angles as if the item was actually there A camera firm has designed virtual reality headgear that can beam digital images into real-life environments. Called Mixed Reality, the device projects a 3D image from a computer screen, for example, into any real-life environment. Wearers are then able to walk around the 3D projection as if it were real and see it at all possible angles. So, for example, users could look at a projection of something as small as an ant - and be able to walk around it. Or, they could download an image of a landmark from Google Maps and then take stroll. Japan-based camera maker Canon displayed a prototype model of its handheld Mixed Reality goggles at the annual Virtual Reality Expo in Tokyo. The device projects a digital image from a computer screen into real-life environments. Wearers can walk around them as if they were real and see them at all possible angles Canon's Mixed Reality device, pictured, puts visual markers into real-world environments to provide orientation. These markers are plotted using the head-mounted displays. Each display has a digital camera attached and these cameras send the markers to a software program that calculates the required angle Although the technology uses the basic principles of augmented reality - a view of the real-world layered with computer-generated sound or images relevant to what the camera is being point at - Canon claims its Mixed Reality technology is the first to allow wearers to see the augmented images from any angle. The system uses visual markers that are put in the real-world environment to give the wearer and the object orientation. These markers are plotted using the head-mounted displays on the Mixed Reality device. Each display has a small digital camera attached that sits next to each of the wearer's eyes. These cameras send these markers to a software program that is able to calculate what angle the user is looking at. The Mixed Reality device, shown here being tested by a visitor to Canon's stand during Tokyo's Virtual Reality Expo, is set to go on sale to businesses such as interior designers, manufacturers and surgeons by the end of June but it will only be made available in Japan Using a prism built into the Mixed Reality headgear the view of the projected device changes shape and size as the wearer moves around it As the wearer moves, the images on the display panels move so that they align with their point of view. This changes the angle at which they are looking at the 3D projection. This process is done almost simultaneously so that the virtual world lines up with the real one and includes scaling and resizing. The system runs on Windows 7 and Windows XP. Although the technology was first announced back in 2010, the company showed off the device at the Virtual Reality Expo in Tokyo this week and said it will start selling the platform from the end of this month. Canon added it will sell the product to businesses such as manufacturers and interior designers as well as doctors to be able to simulate surgical procedure in Japan, in the first instance. A consumer version is a possibility but Canon has not confirmed if or when this will happen, nor did it announce the price, or when it will be made available abroad. The key device for Canon's Mixed Reality technology is the head-mounted display which is fitted with a Charge Coupled Device video camera. This camera captures video images from real space, and a display device that overlays computer graphics images onto these captured real video images. The images from the small display are enlarged using the same principle as a magnifying glass. Using a three-sided prism, the surface on one side is used for both total reflection and light transmission, causing the images to be refracted and reflected four times. This works because the surfaces on all three sides are neither flat, nor are they a sphere with a central axis. It's a special shape that makes sure the viewed image is displayed clearly and not distorted or blurred at the edges due to aberrations in the optical system. Part of the surface includes an undulated curved surface that makes appropriate corrections for any aberrations. A camera is positioned in front of each the left and right eyes so that the image from the right-hand camera is shown on the right-hand display, and the image from the left-hand camera is shown on the left. In the head-mounted display the centre of the image is aligned with the centre of the user's field of vision. Canon uses this to create spatial depth.