MoiréBoard: A Stable, Accurate and Low-cost Camera Tracking Method

Camera tracking is an essential building block in a myriad of HCI applications. For example, commercial VR devices are equipped with dedicated hardware, such as laser-emitting beacon stations, to enable accurate tracking of VR headsets. However, this hardware remains costly. On the other hand, low-cost solutions such as IMU sensors and visual markers exist, but they suffer from large tracking errors. In this work, we bring high accuracy and low cost together to present MoiréBoard, a new 3-DOF camera position tracking method that leverages a seemingly irrelevant visual phenomenon, the moiré effect. Based on a systematic analysis of the moiré effect under camera projection, MoiréBoard requires no power nor camera calibration. It can be easily made at a low cost (e.g., through 3D printing), ready to use with any stock mobile devices with a camera. Its tracking algorithm is computationally efficient, able to run at a high frame rate. Although it is simple to implement, it tracks devices at high accuracy, comparable to the state-of-the-art commercial VR tracking systems.