Introduction: Trackmate :: How to Make Simple Tagged Objects

By Makefast Workshop
About: Background in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, and Tangible Interfaces from MIT. Other projects I've worked on can be found at http://projects.kumpf.cc
Making tagged objects for a Trackmate system is easy. This instructable shows a quick example of just how simple adding new tangible objects to your interface can be!

Trackmate is an open source initiative to create an inexpensive, do-it-yourself tangible tracking system. Using the project's Tracker software, any computer can recognize tagged objects and their corresponding position, rotation, and color information when placed on the imaging surface.



Step 1: Gather the Materials

You'll need:
  • A bunch of 1"x1"x1" cubes (I used these, but any similarly-sized objects will work)
  • Some double-sided tape
  • Trackmate Tags (create your own and print them out. See the Trackmate website.)
  • A pair of scissors to cut the tape.

Step 2: Mount the Tags

1. Place a piece of double-stick tape on each object.

2. Mount a unique tag by aligning it to the center and pressing it to the object.

Step 3: Use Your Objects With Trackmate

Verify that everything is working properly by trying out the new tagged objects.

The image below shows the Portable Plexi Cliffhanger tracking the cubes on its surface.