Spray Paint Goes DIY Virtual With A Vive Tracker

Here is a virtual spray painting project with a new and DIY twist to it. [Adam Amaral]’s project is an experiment in using the Vive Tracker, which was released earlier this year. [Adam] demonstrates how to interface some simple hardware and 3D printed parts to the Tracker’s GPIO pins, using it as a custom peripheral that is fully tracked and interactive in the Vive’s VR environment. He details not only the custom spray can controller, but also how to handle the device on the software side in the Unreal engine. The 3D printed “spray can controller” even rattles when shaken!

There’s one more trick. Since the Vive Tracker is wireless and completely self-contained, the completed rattlecan operates independently from the VR headset. This means it’s possible to ditch the goggles and hook up a projector, then use the 3D printed spray can to paint a nearby wall with virtual paint; you can see that part in action in the video embedded below.

When the Tracker was announced we felt that the GPIO pins and capabilities could open a lot of doors for experimentation; it’s nice to see someone document a project using them. After all, VR experimenters come up with some crazy stuff, like stepping back and forth through the real and virtual.

11 thoughts on “Spray Paint Goes DIY Virtual With A Vive Tracker

  1. This could be amazing coupled with other AR technology like HoloLens, or the new AR modes in iOS11…

    You could have a hidden underground out in the real world of virtual tags all over the world and with the right apps on your phones, etc.. You can see them.

  2. So I was thinking, that facial recognition thing in the iphone X woks the same as the Kinnect2 right? (projecting many IR points with a laser). So will it be possible to use it to 3D scan objects with it? (in an non-GUI manner since the damn laser is on the wrong side). What do you think or know about that scanner fellow HaD readers? I hear it has an API to use it for other things, like they do with the animated emoji, so it’s accessible.

      1. Ah, thanks for the correction.
        I wonder what resolution you’d get and if you can use that kinnect trick of dong a 3D ‘stacking’ by combining many scans to get high resolution, I assume that would work but you never know.

        Not that I am about to own a iPhone X (btw, I hear you are suppose to say 10 for X, which stands for the 10 year anniversary model). But hey if 3D scanning is widely available maybe something interesting rolls out.

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