Project description
With the availability of affordable new desktop fabrication
techniques such as 3D printing and laser cutting, physical
models are used increasingly often during the architectural
and industrial design cycle. Models can easily be annotated
to capture comments, edits and other forms of feedback.
Unfortunately, these annotations remain in the physical
world and cannot be easily transferred back to the digital
world. Here we present a simple solution to this problem
based on a tracking pattern printed on the surface of each
model. Our solution is inexpensive, requires no tracking
infrastructure or per object calibration, and can be used in
the field without a computer nearby. It lets users not only
capture annotations, but also edit the model using a simple
yet versatile command system. Once captured, annotations
and edits are merged into the original CAD models. There
they can be easily edited or further refined. We present the
design of a SolidWorks plug-in implementing this concept,
and report initial feedback from potential users using our
prototype. We also present how this prototype could be
extended seamlessly to a fully functional system using current
3D printing technology.
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