Dinosaurs are roaming the earth once again at Japan’s Dinosaur Expo 2009. New technology from Japanese camera maker Canon allows visitors to see extinct creatures, and get a feel for their size and scale.

The technology behind the simulation blends virtual reality with the real world. When looking through a hand-held viewer, visitors are transported an exhibition floor full of dinosaur models and skeletons.

Some youngsters are awed and even frightened.

[Haruya Kagami, Student]:
"The T-Rex was so huge that I was overwhelmed."

[Erisa Toda, Student]:
“The dinosaur came so close that I was scared and thought I was going to be eaten.”

Expo staff says the system helps bring dinosaur skeletons and fossils to life in a way previously limited only to the imagination.
 
[Yoko Sato, Expo Staff]:
"This is a promising new technology that creates a 'mixed-reality'. Mixing reality and computer graphics can add to the imagination and help one see things that do not exist."

Canon says the mixed-reality technology has great potential beyond entertainment.
Manufacturing, medical and robotic industries can also benefit by bringing fantasy closer to reality.