Augmented Reality Sandbox
The Augmented Reality Sandbox was created by Oliver Kreylos, Peter Gold, and M. Burak Yikilmaz at the University of California-Davis.
Learn more at the UC-Davis site - https://web.cs.ucdavis.edu/~okreylos/ResDev/SARndbox/
What is an Augmented Reality Sandbox?
Also known as a topography table, an augmented reality sandbox uses a special camera to measure the height and depth of the hills and valleys of the sand in a sandbox and a software on a computer to project topographic lines and coloration back onto the sand surface. This combination of camera, computer, software, and projector can draw new lines in real-time as sand is moved to form new elevations. Special effects, like virtual rain, flooding, and drought, can be used to simulate how weather changes the land.
Getting Started
The Sand
There are 200lbs of sand in the box. Over time, it will dry out. Dry sand doesn't mold well. Overly wet sand does not hold structure. The type of sand that is in the box does not have dust and can become moldable with only 1 cup of water for the entire 200lbs of sand.
The System
The system is designed to run by turning on all 3 components - the computer, the projector, and the external monitor.
The Sandbox program will automatically launch as soon as the computer fully boots up. While running, there are some special effects to simulate water in the simulated environment.
Filling the whole surface with water - Press and hold the '1' key.
Draining the water from the whole sandbox - Press and hold the '2' key.
Raining in one spot only - Hold your and with fingers spread apart over the sand about 1' above the surface.
The mouse can be used to click and drag the virtual reality map of the sandbox being displayed on the external monitor. This changes the camera angle to view the virtual terrain from other angles.
Shutting Down
The computer can be shut down by pressing the power button, then using the mouse to click on the "Shut Down" button that appears on the external monitor.
The projector can be shut down by pressing its power button twice.
The external monitor can be shut down by pressing the button under the right edge of the screen.