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Electronics
Volume 14
Issue 23
10.3390/electronics14234586
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

A Low-Cost Magnetic 2D Tracking System for Mobile Devices as an Alternative to Large Interactive Tabletops

by
Sebastian Simon
1,*,
Mia Čarapina
2,*,
Silvio Plehati
2 and
Iza Marfisi
3
1
Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, 1172 Copenhagen, Denmark
2
Department of Information Technology and Computing, Zagreb University of Applied Sciences, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
3
LIUM, Le Mans University, 72085 Le Mans, France
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Electronics 2025, 14(23), 4586; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14234586 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 25 September 2025 / Revised: 16 November 2025 / Accepted: 21 November 2025 / Published: 23 November 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

In the last decade, interactive tabletops have emerged as a hardware solution for collaborative interactions, providing shared workspaces that support group learning and work. However, despite a variety of studies highlighting their benefits, adoption in educational and professional environments remains limited due to high cost, weight, and spatial constraints. This paper presents an alternative hybrid approach of augmenting static surfaces (e.g., printed images or plans) with off-the-shelf mobile devices through a dynamic peephole interaction. The system uses a rotating, asymmetric static magnet and magnetometers commonly found in all mobile devices, requiring solely software on the device to calculate its relative position based on field strength and relative angle. This first prototype is affordable (∼€10), easy to build with a minimal set of components (e.g., LEGO or 3D-printed parts), device-independent, and offers an accuracy of 1.4 cm, with potential for improvements both to accuracy and the currently limited operating range of 30 cm.
Keywords: tracking; DIY; magnets; mobile device; positioning; interactive tabletop tracking; DIY; magnets; mobile device; positioning; interactive tabletop

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Simon, S.; Čarapina, M.; Plehati, S.; Marfisi, I. A Low-Cost Magnetic 2D Tracking System for Mobile Devices as an Alternative to Large Interactive Tabletops. Electronics 2025, 14, 4586. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14234586

AMA Style

Simon S, Čarapina M, Plehati S, Marfisi I. A Low-Cost Magnetic 2D Tracking System for Mobile Devices as an Alternative to Large Interactive Tabletops. Electronics. 2025; 14(23):4586. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14234586

Chicago/Turabian Style

Simon, Sebastian, Mia Čarapina, Silvio Plehati, and Iza Marfisi. 2025. "A Low-Cost Magnetic 2D Tracking System for Mobile Devices as an Alternative to Large Interactive Tabletops" Electronics 14, no. 23: 4586. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14234586

APA Style

Simon, S., Čarapina, M., Plehati, S., & Marfisi, I. (2025). A Low-Cost Magnetic 2D Tracking System for Mobile Devices as an Alternative to Large Interactive Tabletops. Electronics, 14(23), 4586. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14234586

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