Here are some tips for the outdoor phase of your final project:
Before you go outside with the large ARTag fiducials, first make sure everything works fine under indoor conditions. Hold up the fiducials vertically or prop them up vertically against a wall, and check whether the objects are displayed correctly.
You will need to make sure that the transformation of the 3D models relative to the large array is correct. This will require more than just the rotation to make the model upright. In addition, to get the model to register with the real world, you will need to know the real location at which you be holding the fiducial array and the orientation of the array relative to the real world. You should provide facilities for setting these interactively. One way to accomplish this might be to pick the location on a scale model or map. Typing coordinates is another possibility. However, your program should also provide the ability to incrementally move the location in x, y, and, z, and incrementally adjust the array's orientation: arrow keys and modifiers will do just fine. In an ideal world, you would be able to hold the physical array perfectly vertical and only need to adjust its yaw in your program, but you should not count on this. Of course, you can also incrementally reorient the physical array to improve registration.
Confused by this? A good way to figure things out is to try it "in the small" with one of the regular fiducial arrays.
Once things work indoors, try things outside—not at Manhattanville, but somewhere convenient near your dorm or apartment, or on campus. Outdoor conditions may be significantly different from those indoor, because of wind, sunlight, and curious bystanders. In particular, you will probably have to change your camera settings to "outdoor" mode (see below).
Most USB video cameras have a setting panel. You should become really familiar with yours! For example, the Microsoft LifeCam settings can be accessed through the LifeCam Dashboard, which appears in the taskbar tray. If you do not see it, open the LifeCam application. The settings are found in the pulldown menu in the upper right corner of the Dashboard. There, you'll find a setting for outdoor or indoor imaging. When you're outdoors, selecting outdoor will make a significant difference in what you and ARTag see. Changing other setting may also help. Most other cameras have similar panels.
Now, you are ready to go to Manhattanville to conduct your test! We strongly recommend that you have at least two members while conducting tests at the site. Since there are numerous laws that prohibit posting material on poles for street signs and traffic lights, construction sidewalk sheds, and buildings (with no exceptions that I know of for optical tracking fiducials!), you will need one person to hold your fiducial array. The other person will hold the laptop and camera. It would be even more useful to have a third person to help with any interaction needed (both with your program and with interested onlookers).
During the day, the sun can be too bright (don't forget to check weather.com), so you may want to conduct your tests in the morning or at dusk. (Needless to say, you should exercise the usual caution when wandering around the city with expensive portable electronic devices.)
Note that you have the ability to include objects in your scene that are rendered in the z-buffer only, but not the frame buffer. You can use this feature for many purposes. For example, you could attach a virtual model of a fiducial array (e.g., a toolbar) to the physical array, ensuring that the array prevented any of the virtual graphics behind it from being seen. (If you hold the toolbar in a known way or attach the toolbar to your hand, you could do the same with a hand model.) You could also represent nearby buildings this way, making it possible for them to obscure more distant buildings appropriately.
Be patient and take your time to experiment. Try to get the best images and videos you can to show off your work. And, don't forget to take some augmented images of your team!