Toys play an essential role in human society. Even today, when smartphones’ penetration rate is relatively high, the demand for toys still exists: toys have essential roles in entertainment, education, and parent-child communication. Based on humans’ intention for creation, modular toys can easily construct and show different concepts. With the gradual maturity of 3D printing technology, the time to create and form the required objects in a short time is considerably shortened. This dissertation explores the possibility of combining smartphone-based Augmented and Virtual Reality with the playable object. It is possible to extend the interactive possibilities in the virtual environment in an expanded form and give the object an extra layer of meaning and function. This work demonstrates how 3D-printed objects with visual markers can be interacted with in Augmented and Virtual Reality . The product will allow the creation of the item to manipulate in physical form and digital form. The 3D-printed marker object concept is applied in the Virtual Guia Fortress playset, demonstrating how it could be taken advantage of for real-world usage. The playset was evaluated through an usability and user experience test and showed positive results.

This paper reports a work-in-progress that explores the use of 3D-printing for marker-based Tangible User Interfaces for use with smartphone-based eXtended Reality experiences. We have explored several ways to 3D-print matrix markers that are re-con gurable so that the underlying values can change with user interaction. We have also applied 3D-printed markers to the development of modular playset for exploring the Guia Fortress cultural heritage site in Macau SAR, China. We report some of the explorations of 3D-printed markers and describe the Virtual Guia Fortress playset.