Turning everyday objects into passive tangible controllers

In augmented reality (AR), gesture/hand-based interactions are becoming more common place over tangible user interfaces (TUIs) and physical controllers. Major concerns regard portability and battery-life with TUIs and physical controllers in an AR environment. For a TUI or physical controller to be usable "on the go" and in the field, they need to be compact such that they can be easily deployable. Subsequently, it is desirable to be low-energy or powerless, such that the device remains functional after long periods. In this paper, we present our initial design towards a powerless, passive controller that leverages the optical camera of a AR head-mounted display (such as the Hololens or Magic Leap) for tracking. We discuss related work, design motivations, high and low fidelity designs, opportunistic/adaptable input modalities, and use cases. We conclude with propositions for future work.