Fiducial Marker Tracking for Shared XR Object Synchronization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing shared experience techniques fail to adequately facilitate interactions with physical objects in users' environments, limiting the realism and engagement in multi-device experiences.

Innovation Solution

Utilizing fiducial markers on generic physical objects to associate them with unique virtual content items, enabling users to interact with virtual content through their physical objects, and synchronizing these interactions across multiple devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If generic physical objects with unique fiducial markers are used to represent virtual content items, then users can interact with virtual content through physical objects in their own environments, but the system complexity increases due to tracking and synchronizing fiducial markers across multiple devices

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovePhysical interaction with virtual contentVSAvoidFiducial marker tracking and synchronization system

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces fiducial markers as intermediary elements that bridge physical objects and virtual content items. These markers serve as mediators that enable the system to track physical objects and associate them with virtual representations, resolving the contradiction by providing a simple physical interface while managing complexity through automated marker recognition and association protocols

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates virtual copies of physical objects by tracking fiducial markers and generating corresponding virtual content items. This copying mechanism allows users to interact with virtual representations of their physical objects, maintaining simplicity at the user interface level while enabling rich digital interactions through the virtual copies

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Measurement precision

If each physical object has a unique fiducial marker associated with specific virtual content items, then interaction precision improves, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring fiducial markers increases across different environments and devices

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveFiducial marker identification accuracyVSAvoidFiducial marker detection across multiple devices

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The fiducial markers are designed with universal detection capabilities that work across multiple devices and environments. The markers employ standardized patterns and encoding schemes that can be reliably detected and decoded by any device in the system, resolving the detection difficulty while maintaining precise identification through consistent marker design and recognition protocols

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS20260054180A1Tracking objects with fiducial markers in multiple environments to provide shared experiences

Publication Date: 2026.02.26 APPLE INC

AI summary

Various implementations disclosed herein include devices, systems, and methods that provide shared extended reality (XR) experiences in which two or more users interact with their own sets of physical objects (e.g., cards, game pieces, dice, chips, etc.) during the shared experiences. Each user may have multiple physical objects, each of those physical objects having the same generic shape, size, etc., but having a unique fiducial marker. The unique fiducial marker of each physical object can be assigned to represent one of multiple virtual content items.