Augmentation of interactive experiments with a Google Tango device

Žiga Simončič (2017) Augmentation of interactive experiments with a Google Tango device. EngD thesis.

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Abstract

In this thesis we tested the Google Tango development tabled and built a prototype for visualization of electric experiments (currents, magnetic fields, ...). As main development tools we used Unity3D and Visual Studio with C# programming language. We achieved current and magnetic field visualization by drawing arrows, which are defined by Bezier curves. For better interactivity, we also used Raspberry Pi, which we connected to the Tango tablet and the experiment. This enabled us to manage the experiment remotely. By utilizing Google Tango's Area Learning feature, we were able to properly align the visualization. While learning an area, we can place markers on different parts of the experiment, which helps us build the visualization. We implemented a plugin for Unity3D, which transfers those markers from the tablet to the computer. We evaluated the prototype and presented instructions on how to build similar systems. We considered two possibilities: mobile experiments, which will frequently move between different places, and static experiments, which will stay in the same place for longer. When visualizing electric experiments, even a few millimetre deviation of visualization can be quite noticeable, which means we need to be very precise when creating the visualization in Unity3D.

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