AprilTags in Unity: A Local Alternative to Shared Spatial Anchors for Synergistic Shared Space Applications Involving Extended Reality and the Internet of Things

Creating shared spaces is a key part of making extended reality (XR) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology more interactive and collaborative. Currently, one system which stands out in achieving this end commercially involves spatial anchors. Due to the cloud-based nature of these anchors, they ca...

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Main Authors: Amitabh Mishra, Kevin Foster Carff
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4408
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author Amitabh Mishra
Kevin Foster Carff
author_facet Amitabh Mishra
Kevin Foster Carff
author_sort Amitabh Mishra
collection DOAJ
description Creating shared spaces is a key part of making extended reality (XR) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology more interactive and collaborative. Currently, one system which stands out in achieving this end commercially involves spatial anchors. Due to the cloud-based nature of these anchors, they can introduce connectivity and privacy issues for projects which need to be isolated from the internet. This research attempts to explore and create a different approach that does not require internet connectivity. This work involves the creation of an AprilTags-based calibration system as a local solution for creating shared XR spaces and investigates its performance. AprilTags are simple, scannable markers that, through computer vision algorithms, can help XR devices figure out position and rotation in a three-dimensional space. This implies that multiple users can be in the same virtual space and in the real-world space at the same time, easily. Our tests in XR showed that this method is accurate and works well for synchronizing multiple users. This approach could make shared XR experiences faster, more private, and easier to use without depending on cloud-based calibration systems.
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spelling doaj-art-78dfa0334e6d467ea96705b438df45062025-08-20T03:56:46ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-07-012514440810.3390/s25144408AprilTags in Unity: A Local Alternative to Shared Spatial Anchors for Synergistic Shared Space Applications Involving Extended Reality and the Internet of ThingsAmitabh Mishra0Kevin Foster Carff1Department of Cybersecurity and IT, HMCSE, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514, USADepartment of Computer Science, HMCSE, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514, USACreating shared spaces is a key part of making extended reality (XR) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology more interactive and collaborative. Currently, one system which stands out in achieving this end commercially involves spatial anchors. Due to the cloud-based nature of these anchors, they can introduce connectivity and privacy issues for projects which need to be isolated from the internet. This research attempts to explore and create a different approach that does not require internet connectivity. This work involves the creation of an AprilTags-based calibration system as a local solution for creating shared XR spaces and investigates its performance. AprilTags are simple, scannable markers that, through computer vision algorithms, can help XR devices figure out position and rotation in a three-dimensional space. This implies that multiple users can be in the same virtual space and in the real-world space at the same time, easily. Our tests in XR showed that this method is accurate and works well for synchronizing multiple users. This approach could make shared XR experiences faster, more private, and easier to use without depending on cloud-based calibration systems.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/44084-point calibrationAprilTagsextended realityinternet of thingsshared-space localizationunity
spellingShingle Amitabh Mishra
Kevin Foster Carff
AprilTags in Unity: A Local Alternative to Shared Spatial Anchors for Synergistic Shared Space Applications Involving Extended Reality and the Internet of Things
Sensors
4-point calibration
AprilTags
extended reality
internet of things
shared-space localization
unity
title AprilTags in Unity: A Local Alternative to Shared Spatial Anchors for Synergistic Shared Space Applications Involving Extended Reality and the Internet of Things
title_full AprilTags in Unity: A Local Alternative to Shared Spatial Anchors for Synergistic Shared Space Applications Involving Extended Reality and the Internet of Things
title_fullStr AprilTags in Unity: A Local Alternative to Shared Spatial Anchors for Synergistic Shared Space Applications Involving Extended Reality and the Internet of Things
title_full_unstemmed AprilTags in Unity: A Local Alternative to Shared Spatial Anchors for Synergistic Shared Space Applications Involving Extended Reality and the Internet of Things
title_short AprilTags in Unity: A Local Alternative to Shared Spatial Anchors for Synergistic Shared Space Applications Involving Extended Reality and the Internet of Things
title_sort apriltags in unity a local alternative to shared spatial anchors for synergistic shared space applications involving extended reality and the internet of things
topic 4-point calibration
AprilTags
extended reality
internet of things
shared-space localization
unity
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4408
work_keys_str_mv AT amitabhmishra apriltagsinunityalocalalternativetosharedspatialanchorsforsynergisticsharedspaceapplicationsinvolvingextendedrealityandtheinternetofthings
AT kevinfostercarff apriltagsinunityalocalalternativetosharedspatialanchorsforsynergisticsharedspaceapplicationsinvolvingextendedrealityandtheinternetofthings