Repurposing Hardware for Interactive Graphics
For the 90th Founder's Day exhibition, my team wanted to create a hands-on computing demonstration. We set out to build an Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox that projects real-time topographic heightmaps and water simulation onto physical sand as users shape it.
Instead of buying expensive commercial rigs, we constructed the system from repurposed spare parts, an optical depth sensor, and an overhead projector.
Technical Execution
- Depth Data Processing: Calibrated a depth camera to scan the sand surface contours continuously.
- Real-Time Color Shading: Processed point-cloud elevations in real time to project color-coded contour lines and fluid dynamics directly onto the sand.
- Interactive Engagement: Over 700 parents, alumni, and students interacted with the box, demonstrating complex geographical topography through tactile play.
Repurposing discarded hardware into interactive tools is one of the most rewarding engineering challenges imaginable.