Augmented reality sandbox

Info

Member name: Katryna C, Ian O, Steve T

Member contact: build/discussion thread, or find us at the space most days

Project name & pitch: Augmented reality sandbox like this. Here's the pitch thread .

Storage location: LPS-4A to start. Gray table in the flex room once the sandbox is constructed.

Project start date: 2016-07-09

Final Deadline: 2016-10-31

2016-07-11: We are working out how to cobble together a working computer to run the sandbox. We will try to build the computer tomorrow. If we don't succeed by 8 PM, Steve says he will probably buy the gaming computer he's been meaning to buy for a while, and lend that to the project for a couple of months.
2016-07-23: Loads of progress this past week and a half. We failed to build the computer that day, but kept trying. We built a prototype frame for the projector and Kinect. Steve got the UC Davis software running on a Raspberry Pi and everything worked except the last step (sandbox depth calibration), which never worked. We built the sandbox itself partway. Steve got his gaming computer and tried that. We officially gave up on the UC Davis software and decided to write our own. Then Steve got the UC Davis software to work. We also got some tips from Dennis at Telus Spark, which has a working AR sandbox using the UC Davis software.
2016-08-29: All done. The Sandbox was a huge kid magnet at Calgary Mini Maker Faire, and hopefully convinced a few parents and other makers to drop by the Open House. The Sandbox will remain at Protospace until the 2nd of October, whereupon Steve will take the computer, Kinect and Projector home with him. Future plans are to build a small tabletop model using a pico projector, a welded stand, and a smaller PC, which can make drop-in appearances at Protospace or, if voted upon, become a permanent decoration. (No larger than 50 cm wide.)