Seating Buck Calibration

Calibrate the digital cockpit to a physical seating buck — pick an anchoring method, then teach Innoactive Spatial the geometry of the steering wheel so the alignment returns every session.

A seating buck is the physical cabin or vehicle mockup automotive design teams use to feel proportions and ergonomics. Innoactive Spatial lets you lock the digital car to the physical buck so reviewers can sit in it and have the digital interior line up with the real seat back, steering wheel, and B-pillar.

There are three ways to do it. Start with the simplest that meets your accuracy needs.

Place the digital model in the room with a gaze-and-pinch and let visionOS pin it there. ARKit stores the world anchor on the device, so the model snaps back to the same spot the next time you open the app in the same space.

Best for: quick set-up; a single buck that stays in one room; reviewers who can re-place the model by eye each session.

How to use it:

  1. In Innoactive Spatial, open Anchoring settings and pick World.
  2. Start the streamed session. The model appears in front of you, freely placeable.
  3. Drag and rotate it onto the buck. Tap to commit; the position is saved as a world anchor.
  4. Next session — the model returns to the same position as long as visionOS still recognises the room.

Caveats: world anchors rely on visual features in the room. Significant lighting changes or rearranging the space can invalidate the anchor and require re-placing the model.

2. Image anchor (repeatable across sessions and users)

Print a marker image and stick it somewhere visible on the buck. Every Vision Pro that scans the same marker aligns to the exact same pose — perfect for collaborative reviews and for moving the buck to a different room.

Best for: multi-user sessions where everyone needs the same alignment; reviews where the buck moves between locations; situations where you want to swap models without re-placing each time.

See Anchoring methods for the full set-up.

3. Tracker anchor with the Logitech Muse pen (most precise)

When the buck has a known reference point — a corner of the seat rail, a bolt hole, the centre of a logo — pointing the Muse pen at that exact point gives you sub-centimetre anchoring without the visual ambiguity of a marker.

Best for: high-precision design reviews where the buck has identifiable reference features; situations where you can't attach a printed marker; ergonomics studies that need a hard reference.

How to use it:

  1. Pair the Muse pen — see Point and annotate with the Logitech Muse pen.
  2. In Innoactive Spatial, open Anchoring settings and pick Tracker.
  3. Mount the pen on the seating buck with an appropriate 3D-printed holder, within the user's arm's reach and line of sight.
  4. Keep the pen plugged in for charging while in use.
  5. Tap the Tap to sync button next to the pen tip in the streamed view to lock the model to the pen's pose.

Calibrate to the steering wheel (optional refinement)

The three methods above pin the digital car to a point on the buck. Seating buck calibration goes a step further — it teaches Innoactive Spatial the geometry and pose of the physical steering wheel, so the digital cockpit lines up with the real one in scale and orientation, not just position. You do it once per physical setup and save the result as a reusable preset.

Skip this for a quick first look — image or world anchoring is plenty. Reach for it when the digital steering column, pedals, and dashboard need to align to the millimetre with the physical hardware.

You'll need the steering wheel reachable with both hands, hand tracking working (Vision Pro must see your hands throughout), and roughly two minutes.

Run the calibration:

  1. From Settings → Seating Buck Calibration, tap Start Calibration.
  2. Position this window — drag the floating instruction panel to a spot inside the buck where you can read it without turning your head. Tap Window positioned.
  3. Grab the wheel with both hands. When the app confirms both grips and your gaze is on the wheel, a three-second countdown starts.
  4. Rotate slowly to the left — about 45°. The app collects samples once you're on target; a chime confirms.
  5. Rotate slowly to the right — through centre to about 45° right. Keep it slow; turning faster than 180° per second fails the calibration and you'll have to start over.
  6. Rotate back to centre. The app computes the wheel centre, plane, and forward direction.
  7. Fine-tune the position — nudge the digital car with hand gestures until it lines up. Increments range from 1 mm up to half an inch in the settings.
  8. Thumbs up to confirm. When you stop adjusting, the app prompts "Give me a thumbs up if you are happy." Hold the gesture for two seconds.
  9. Name and save. The app suggests "Seating Buck 1", "Seating Buck 2", and so on. Save the preset.

The next session, pick the saved preset and the car snaps to the same alignment. Toggle Remember Fine Adjustments before saving if you want your manual nudges to carry forward into the next calibration of the same buck.

Tips for a clean calibration:

  • Keep both hands visible to the cameras. Tinted glass canopies or low light degrade tracking and stall the countdown.
  • Take rotation slowly. Anything above 180° per second aborts the calibration with "Rotation too fast".
  • Hand spread matters. A typical car-wheel grip — roughly 18 to 55 cm between hands — is the supported range.
  • Look at the wheel while gripping. If your gaze drifts off the wheel the grip detection cancels and the countdown resets.
  • Save more than one preset. Different bucks (or different car variants on the same buck) each get their own preset; they're stored on the device.

If calibration fails:

  • "Rotation too fast" — slow down and restart from step 1.
  • "Hand tracking not available" — close the app and reopen it; make sure no other app is using the cameras.
  • Grip not registering — open the Adjust Grip Detection sheet from the calibration screen to see live feedback on both hands and the gaze angle. Tighten your grip or shift your hands so the cameras have a clear view.