Posted on March 18, 2018

This simulation was developed to demonstrate integration of custom 3D printed tangible objects with off-the-shelf VR devices and general use devices like the Microsoft Surface dial. It was demoed during the Tangibles within VR tutorial at the 25th IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces in Germany on 18th March, 2018.

The simulation features a lake like environment and uses an HTC Vive tracker and a Microsoft Surface Dial combined together using a 3D printed harness in the shape of a fishing rod, see images below. This new handheld interactive fishing rod is tracked using the tracker and can be swung like an actual fishing rod to cast a line in VR, see video. The user can then rotate the surface dial using the 3D printed handle to reel the fish in like in real life.

The simulation was built using the Unity game engine and connects to the Microsoft Surface dial using the Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol.