TrackItPipe: A Fabrication Pipeline To Incorporate Location and Rotation Tracking Into 3D Printed Objects

Abstract

The increasing convergence of the digital and physical world creates a growing urgency to integrate 3D printed physical tangibles with virtual environments. A precise position and rotation tracking are essential to integrate such physical objects with a virtual environment. However, available 3D models commonly do not provide tracking support on their composition, which requires modifications by CAD experts. This poses a challenge for users with no prior CAD experience. This work presents TrackItPipe, a fabrication pipeline supporting users by semi-automatically adding tracking capabilities for 3D printable tangibles tailored to environmental requirements. TrackItPipe integrates modifications to the 3D model, UIST ’22 Adjunct, October 29-November 2, 2022, Bend, OR, USA produces the respective tangibles for 3D printing, and provides integration scripts for Mixed Reality. Using TrackItPipe, users can rapidly equip objects with tracking capabilities.