VirtualCanvas

This repository, produced as part of a Senior Honors Capstone Research project conducted by Nolan Cooper (@barrelmaker97) and Ryan Lewis (@LuckierDodge), explores the creation and use of 3D-printed trackable objects for use with Augmented Reality (AR) applications. The repository contains the following:

1. A Unity3D application, located under /HoloLens Virtual Canvas, which demonstrates the ability to use 3D trackables to generate a "Virtual Canvas" in Augmented Reality. Versions of the Application targetted for Microsoft HoloLens and Android 8.1 'Oreo' are available on the master and android branches, respectively.
2. The model files we 3D printed for our project, located under /Meshes.

A video demo of the Android version of the application can be found here.

A video demo of the Hololens version of the application can be found here.

Building and Deploying

In order to run these projects, you will need both Unity and Visual Studio. If you've got those, then you're all set, just follow these steps:

Export to Visual Studio

1. Open Unity, click Open, navigate to the project you'd like to open, and click Select Folder
2. In Unity, go to File > Build Settings
3. In Build Settings, make sure there is a scene listed in Scenes to Build
4. Change Platform to Windows Store and click Switch Platform
5. Under Windows Store, ensure SDK is Universal 10
6. For Target Device, select Hololens
7. UWP Build Type should be D3D
8. UWP SDK should be Latest Installed
9. Build and Run on should be Local Machine
10. Check Unity C# Projects under Debugging
11. Click Build
12. When Unity is done building, a Windows File Explorer window will appear
13. In the file explorer, click New Folder and name the folder App
14. Open the App folder in the file explorer and open the generated Visual Studio solution

Compile and Deploy

1. Using the top toolbar in Visual Studio, change the target from Debug to Release and from ARM to X86
2. Click on the arrow next to the Local Machine button, and change the deployment target to Remote Machine
3. Enter the IP address of your Hololens and change Authentication Mode to Universal (Unencrypted Protocol)
4. Click Debug > Start without debugging
5. The first time you deploy to your HoloLens from your PC, you will be prompted for a PIN. Follow the Pairing instructions below

Pairing

The first time you deploy an app from Visual Studio to your HoloLens, you will be prompted for a PIN. On the HoloLens, generate a PIN by launching the Settings app, go to Update & Security > For Developers and tap on Pair. A PIN will be displayed on your HoloLens; type this PIN in Visual Studio. After pairing is complete, tap Done on your HoloLens to dismiss the dialog. This PC is now paired with the HoloLens and you will be able to deploy apps automatically.

Additional Documentation

If you're having trouble, check out Microsoft's Documentation on Using Visual Studio or Deploying to Hololens

Notes for 3D printing

The models we tested for this project are available in the /Meshes directory of this repository, as well as one model located on Thingiverse, a Voronoi Klein Bottle. We experimented with various print properties and model characteristics to determine optimal traits for a 3D printed trackable object. The following were our general conclusions:

• Nontrivial shape (Something like the Reticles located under /Meshes/Complexs is far preferable to a simple cube or cylinder.
• Surface Contrast and Variety (A Dual Extrusion 3D printer can help with this, but a sharpie marker could suffice in a pinch. See the Dual Extrusion example under /Meshes/Complexs).
• Complex Perforated Surface Pattern (See the Klein Bottle above for an example).
• A Matte, Opaque, Non-transclucent Material. PLA or ABS will serve you well, transclucent or flexible filaments will in some cases make tracking difficult or impossible.

We used a BCN3D Sigma Dual Extrusion Printer for most of our testing, but almost any desktop 3D printer should work. Print settings varied from model to model, but in most cases Cura's "Draft" Quality should be acceptable.

Special thanks for the support of Northern Illinois University, the NIU Honors Program, Dr. Michael Papka, the Data, Devices and Interactions Laboratory, and the Honors Council of the Illinois Region.