Augmented reality overlays information on the user's perspective of the real world, reacting to the presence of and interactions by the user. Rich interaction, such as exploration, learning, and play are supported.

Current mobile technologies enable mixing the digital and physical worlds in real time. One such mixture is augmented reality, where a computer overlays digital data on the user's perspective of the real world. The user can interacts with the virtual environment by moving in the physical world and interfacing through other sensors.

In this project, the team will develop an augmented reality experience for an existing site: TEEX Disaster City a search and rescue training ground. The grounds feature a range of props including rubble piles, collapsible buildings, and wrecked vehicles. Tours of the facility are popular, but require an extensive expenditure of resources; an augmented reality experience could reduce the burden on tour guides. Future work could provide significant broader impact by aiding instructors operating in the field, or investigating real-world disaster applications. TEEX will furnish students with data on the props and grounds as needed, and the team should expect to spend some time visiting and exploring the training ground.

A number of designs and implementations are possible. Will you allow the user to explore a virtual model of a site from the device? Build a game around reaching various locations in the field? Will you overlay data on a live feed of the screen or a model? Will the user simply look over the device and point it at the target? How will you accomplish your objective technologically? Dead reckoning, fiduciary markers, large QR codes?

Any designed system should impart deeper knowledge about Disaster City to those walking or riding through it. This information must be site-based for each prop.

expected benefits

• learn to develop interactive applications that exist in the uncertainty of the real world
• learn to develop for mobile platforms
• learn about augmented reality
• understand advanced sensors; deal with uncertainty and reliability while interpreting values from the device
• learn about information visualization

minimal requirements

• system must provide computational augmentation and work in the real world
• at a minimum, 5 Disaster City props must be augmented

bonus objectives

• system includes a meaningful social component (multiplayer, incorporates social network, etc.)
• makes use of Interface Ecology Lab frameworks (S.IM.PL Serialization, OODSS, Interaction Logging Framework)
• system is instrumented, providing feedback to administrators about users' experiences, such as which props were visited and for how long

software tools

Your choice of software tools will impact your development focus and finished product. You will need to scope your project based on the software tools you use.

• Intro to AR on Android [ tutorial site ]
• Mixare open-source augmented reality engine for Android [ dev site ]
• Layar (may cost money to actually use) [ dev site ]
• Android AR Kit (not much activity; probably not a good choice) [ dev site ]
• ARGON: Augmented Reality Browser dynamic web site; using the S.IM.PL frameworks will reduce development complexity. [ dev site | app store ]
• Qualcomm AR (iOS / Android): [ dev site ]
• ARToolWorks' ARToolKit (ARToolWorks will provide an academic license): [ dev site ]

provided development platform

• 2x iPad 2 3G (includes camera, compass, GPS)

provided deployment platform

• Apple iMac
• HP Windows workstation

required reading

• selections from Where the Action Is (Paul Dourish) [ electronic reserve ]
  • 4. "Being-in-the-World": Embodied Interaction (99–126)
• S. Feiner, B. MacIntyre, T. Höllerer, A. Webster. A Touring Machine: Prototyping 3D mobile augmented reality systems for exploring the urban environment. Personal Ubiquitous Computing 1, 4, 1997. 208–217.
• G. Reitmayr, D. Schmalstieg. Collaborative augmented reality for outdoor navigation and information browsing. Proceedings of the Symposium on Location Based Services, 2004. 31–41.
• R. T Azuma. A survey of augmented reality. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments 6, 4, 1997. 355–385.
• S. Feiner, B. MacIntyre, T. Höllerer, A. Webster. A Touring Machine: Prototyping 3D mobile augmented reality systems for exploring the urban environment . Personal Ubiquitous Computing 1, 4, 1997. 208–217.
• T. Starner, S. Mann, B. Rhodes, J. Levine, J. Healey, D. Kirsch, R. Picard, A. Pentland. Augmented reality through wearable computing. Presence 6, 4, 1997. 386–398.
• B. Thomas, B. Close, J. Donoghue, J. Squires, P. De Bondi, W. Piekarski. First person indoor/outdoor augmented reality application: ARQuake. Personal Ubiquitous Computing 6, 1, 2002. 75–86.

required viewing

• Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner
• Parrot AR.Drone
• GVU's ARhrrrr Augmented Reality Shooter
• Oda & Feiner: Augmented Reality Games
• Panasonic VIERA AR Setup Simulator

recommended reading

• C. Magerkurth, A. D. Cheok, R. L. Mandryk, T. Nilsen. Pervasive games: Bringing computer entertainment back to the real world. Computers in Entertainment 3 , 3, 2005.
• A. Dünser, R. Grasset, M. Billinghurst. A survey of evaluation techniques used in augmented reality studies. ACM SIGGRAPH ASIA courses, 2008. 5:1–5:27.
• P. Milgram, F. Kishino. A taxonomy of mixed reality visual displays. IEICE Transactions on Information Systems E77-D, 12, 1994. 1321–1329.

project-specific deliverables

• Visit TEEX Disaster City and document your experience (including photographs). Which props will you begin with and why? Did you discover anything new or unexpected on your visit? What challenges will you face working in this environment?

  Write up your experience in a short, 4 page document. Include photographs from your visit.

  Disaster City is located at 10096 Stillwater Road.