Augmented Carpentry

This is the repo containing the necessary code to run the Augmented Carpentry (AC) software. This is a research thesis project from the Laboratory of Timber Constructions (IBOIS) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). It is an Augmented Reality (AR) application that helps operators to integrate ordinary tools (e.g. power drills, circular saws and chainsaws) into digitally guided woodworking to obtain live computed feedback. The aim is to suppress 2D execution drawings and markings and empower the worker with precise and real-time guidance to replicate even a complex digital designs with manual tools.

Quickstart

1 Software Requirements

AC is build and tested for UNIX x64 machines running on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. It does not exploit GPU acceleration and can run on a laptop or a desktop. The software is built with C++.

First refresh the package list and install the necessary dependencies:

apt-get -qq update && apt-get -qq -y install g++ cmake git git-lfs

And here's the dependecies for the project:

apt-get -qq update && apt-get -qq -y install \
wget \
curl \
unzip \
xvfb \
freeglut3-dev \
libfreetype-dev \
libassimp-dev \
libboost-all-dev \
libeigen3-dev \
libglew-dev \
libglfw3-dev \
libglm-dev \
libgmp-dev \
libgoogle-glog-dev \
libmpfr-dev \
libimgui-dev \
libopencv-dev

2 Hardware Requirements

2.1 Computing unit, interface and sensors

AC works on x64 machines running on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and a simple monocular camera. For a quick start, you can use a laptop and your webcam. If you want to build on a touch screen, you can use the WaveShare WS170120 and follow the instructions below:

To config the touch screen on the pc follow these steps first. Be sure to switch the display on, plug the mini-USB and finally plug the HDMI cable.

Set the display properties in the config.ini properties (to find them run the commands xinput for the name and xrandr for the connection type).

The following specs works on the X11 display server. If you are using wayland and wanting to switch to X11 follow this link.

[MonitorSpecs]
monitor_name = WaveShare WS170120
monitor_link_t = HDMI
monitor_resolution = 1280 x 720

Note

You can use any other touch screen, just make sure to set the correct specs in the config.ini file.

Warning

Wayland display and touchscreen are not compatible yet as the touchscreen register for the main display and not the small display.

[MonitorSpecs]
LinkMode = XWAYLAND1
Name = Virtual core pointer
Resolution = 1280 x 720

Tip

You can build AC with the touch screen or on a non-touch screen. To do so set ON or OFF the CMake option DEPLOY_ON_TOUCH later when configuring the build: cmake -S . -B build -DDEPLOY_ON_TOUCH=ON.

2.2 Wood working tools

AC is designed to be machine independent, it is only dependent on the toolheads (e.g.: drill bits, circular saw blades and chainsaw boards). You can find a list of the available toolheads here. If you want to add your own, open a Pull Request to the repo TTool and follow the Wiki.

2.3 Stickers

The last thing you need is a set of STags. These are the markers that help the camera understand its position and orientation to the timber beam. You can find them as 450 stripes for a total of 21149 tags are available in batches of 50 stripes with an A0 format, ready to print (better as stickers) and can be downloaded here. They are made to be print as stickers, but if you want to generate your own you can find a script here.

3 Build & Run

Donwnload the repo first:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/ibois-epfl/augmented-carpentry.git

AC can be built either on a touch screen or on a non-touch screen like your laptop. Time to build.. If you are deploying on a touch monitor set the flag -DDEPLOY_ON_TOUCH=ON, you can config:

cd augmented-carpentry
cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build

To run the code:

./build/bin/AC

While running the code, make sure that config.ini and assets/ exists in the current directory. If errors related to config present, please reconfigure the config.ini by copy-pasting the content from /assets/default_config.ini.

That's it your are running Augmented Carpentry🪚!

4 How to use

Follow our online documentation to learn how to use the AC.

How to cite

To cite the software follow the following BibTeX entry:

@software{AugmentedCarpentrySoftware2024,
    title = {{Augmented Carpentry Software}},
    author = {Andrea Settimi, Hong-Bin Yang, Naravich Chutisilp, Nazgul Zholmagambetova, Florian Aymanns, Edward Andò and Nicolas Richart},
    year = {2024},
    doi = {10.5281/zenodo.14191429},
    url = {https://github.com/ibois-epfl/augmented-carpentry}

or the associated Zenodo DOI:

To cite the research follow the the BibTeX entry linked to the publication:

incoming

Disclaimer

This software is provided "as-is" as a prototype, without any warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. The user assumes full responsibility for the use of the software, and we are not liable for any damages, losses, or misuse arising from its use. By using this software, you agree to these terms.