XR-penter: Material-Aware and In Situ Design of Scrap Wood Assemblies

TL;DR

XR-penter is an extended reality tool that helps DIY woodworkers design custom, sustainable assemblies using scrap materials in situ, enhancing creativity and resourcefulness in woodworking projects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel XR application enabling material-aware, in situ design of scrap wood assemblies, promoting sustainable practices for casual makers.

Findings

Supports in situ, material-aware woodworking design.

Encourages sustainable use of discarded materials.

Facilitates improvisational woodworking workflows.

Abstract

Woodworkers have to navigate multiple considerations when planning a project, including available resources, skill-level, and intended effort. Do it yourself (DIY) woodworkers face these challenges most acutely because of tight material constraints and a desire for custom designs tailored to specific spaces. To address these needs, we present XR-penter, an extended reality (XR) application that supports in situ, material-aware woodworking for casual makers. Our system enables users to design virtual scrap wood assemblies directly in their workspace, encouraging sustainable practices through the use of discarded materials. Users register physical material as virtual twins, manipulate these twins into an assembly in XR, and preview cuts needed for fabrication. We conducted a case study and feedback sessions to demonstrate how XR-penter supports improvisational workflows in practice, the type of woodworker who would benefit most from our system, and insights on integrating similar spatial and material considerations into future work.