# AirCode: Unobtrusive Physical Tags for Digital Fabrication

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.05754 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.05754/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 18 Jul 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [OmniActions: Predicting Digital Actions in Response to Real-World Multimodal Sensory Inputs with LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.03901/) (2024)
- [Unveiling the Potential of iMarkers: Invisible Fiducial Markers for Advanced Robotics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.15505/) (2025)
- [Claycode: Stylable and Deformable 2D Scannable Codes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.08666/) (2025)
- [Ninja Codes: Neurally Generated Fiducial Markers for Stealthy 6-DoF Tracking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.18976/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We present AirCode, a technique that allows the user to tag physically fabricated objects with given information. An AirCode tag consists of a group of carefully designed air pockets placed beneath the object surface. These air pockets are easily produced during the fabrication process of the object, without any additional material or postprocessing. Meanwhile, the air pockets affect only the scattering light transport under the surface, and thus are hard to notice to our naked eyes. But, by using a computational imaging method, the tags become detectable. We present a tool that automates the design of air pockets for the user to encode information. AirCode system also allows the user to retrieve the information from captured images via a robust decoding algorithm. We demonstrate our tagging technique with applications for metadata embedding, robotic grasping, as well as conveying object affordances.