Investigating Indoor Navigational Experiences with a Mobile Augmented Reality Prototype versus the Conventional Method

Mobile Augmented Reality (AR) applications allow the user to interact with virtual objects positioned within the real world via a smart phone, tablet or smart glasses. As the popularity of these applications grows, recent researchers have identified several security and privacy issues pertaining to the collection and storage of sensitive data from device sensors. Location-based AR applications typically not only collect user location data, but transmit it to a remote server in order to download nearby virtual content. In this paper we show that the pattern of network traffic generated by this process alone can be used to infer the user's location. We demonstrate a side-channel attack against a widely available Mobile AR application inspired by Website Fingerprinting methods. Through the strategic placement of virtual content and prerecording of the network traffic produced by interacting with this content, we are able to identify the location of a user within the target area with an accuracy of 94%. This finding reveals a previously unexplored vulnerability in the implementation of Mobile AR applications and we offer several recommendations to mitigate this threat.

The flipped classroom model enables students to acquire fundamental knowledge outside of class time; thus, include reading materials or video lectures. This will be able to free up class time for knowledge application, student engagement in active learning, and higher-order thinking. The flipped classroom model is increasingly being adopted in competency-based medical education. However, the potential of flipped classrooms for enhancing medical education has not yet been proven and it poses a major challenge to students who have not mastered self-regulated learning strategies. Thus, they may not be able to understand the information presented in the course materials or to strategically use learning resources outside of class. In this project, we have created a mobile augmented reality (AR) application for students studying anatomy to help them grasp the idea of the AR flipped classroom. Students were instructed to use the same three mobile augmented reality (MAR) applications with different design and approach. The three types of MAR applications are — those with markers and notes on printed notebooks (BARA1), those with markers and notes are on a website (BARA2), and those with all notes in the MAR application and the marker are a tangible 3D object (BARA3). From the series of experiment, we found out that most students favour the BARA3, meanwhile the medical lecturers essentially prefer the BARA1. In this research three things have been considered: interface design, the usefulness of Augmented Reality (AR), technical problems with the use of AR applications, and educators training on the use of AR applications. Without a well-designed interface and guidance for the students, AR technology can be too complicated to use, especially for those who are not familiar with the technology.

With the development of Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore, mobile augmented reality (AR) applications have become much more popular. For Android devices, ARCore provides basic motion tracking and environmental understanding. However, with current software frameworks it can be difficult to create an AR application from the ground up. Our solution is CalAR, which is a lightweight, open-source software environment to develop AR applications for Android devices, while giving the programmer full control over the phone’s resources. With CalAR, the programmer can create marker-less AR applications which run at 60 frames per second on Android smartphones. These applications can include more complex environment understanding, physical simulation, user interaction with virtual objects, and interaction between virtual objects and objects in the physical environment. With CalAR being based on CalVR, which is our multi-platform virtual reality software engine, it is possible to port CalVR applications to an AR environment on Android phones with minimal effort. We demonstrate this with the example of a spatial visualization application.

The purpose of the current study is to design and develop a sample Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) application addressing the anatomic structure of the heart in a way suitable for laboratory learning for pre-service science teachers to achieve learning by constructing information in biology instruction. The implementation of the MAR design activity was conducted with the participation of 30 pre-service teachers taking the biology laboratory course. The implementation process of the activity consists of four stages. The first stage includes the introduction of the MAR application program and marker; the second stage includes the use of the MAR application in a laboratory environment; the third stage includes the operation of dissection and the last stage includes the association of the MAR application with the operation of dissection and general evaluation. Then, semi-structured interviews were conducted by involving pre-service teachers and the data obtained from these interviews revealed that integration of heart dissection with MAR application helped the pre-service teachers to better understand the anatomic structure of the heart and the related concepts. Thus, a sample activity demonstrating how MAR, which is an instructional method with strong potential for reification and visualisation, can be integrated into the teaching of concepts in laboratory settings was developed.

In traditional learning, students frequently need help mastering mathematical concepts due to the complexity of the content and static and non-interactive teaching methods. However, the ubiquity of mobile phones and their enabling impact on Augmented Reality (AR) technology improves learning experiences. Augmented Reality (AR) specifically fosters spatial thinking through visual augmentations and enables interactions with dynamic content. In this paper, we propose a mobile Augmented Reality (AR) learning system that utilizes these visual augmentations to present educational hints of different textual- and graphical types. The system considers teachers’ and students’ perspectives and provides respective interfaces. These interfaces are a web-based authoring tool for teachers and a mobile Augmented Reality (AR) application for students. We conclude our work with ideas for future Augmented Reality (AR)-based learning systems.

The world of mobile computing has been advancing at a tremendous rate over the past numbers of years and is set to continue well in the future. The vast majority of interaction between the user and mobile of today makes use of touch screen displays that have now become the de-facto standard in all smart phones. This paper presents a mobile Augmented Reality (AR) application making use of different kinds of interaction techniques to investigate user experience and the usefulness of the AR technology. Comparisons are drawn with a ported version of the application that makes use of the more traditional touch screen interaction paradigm (2D), thus allowing users to accurately gauge their interaction style preference. The application also makes use of finger-based gesture, auditory (3D sound) and haptic based feedback to ground the user and create a richer experience. Our results shows that though the user feels that 2D interaction is easy to use, they find that using gesture based AR interaction is more fun and enjoyable in this mobile AR application.

This study explores the integration of mobile Augmented Reality (AR) applications within the context of the National Museum of Malaysia, focusing on enhancing the educational experience for visitors. The project aims to address the challenge of enhancing museum experiences through innovative technologies. The research problem centers on designing an AR application for the National Museum of Malaysia to enrich the visitor engagement and understanding, as stemmed from the decline in museum visitors, with the National Museum of Malaysia experiencing a staggering 70% drop in income in 2020 and 2021. Utilizing Unity Editor and other libraries, the project developed the National Museum AR App, featuring four distinct AR experiences corresponding to different exhibits within the museum. Methods involve AR content creation, user testing, and data analysis. Overall, findings suggest that the AR application effectively meets visitors' learning needs and enhances the educational value of museum exhibits by providing unique AR features. The significance of the project lies in its potential to transform cultural heritage tourism by bridging the gap between traditional museum experiences and digital engagement. The study also serves as a preliminary investigation to guide the future development and deployment of AR applications within the museum setting.

Research on the effectiveness of augmented reality (AR) on learning exists, but there is a paucity of empirical work that explores the role that positive emotions play in supporting learning in such settings. To address this gap, this study compared undergraduate students’ emotions and learning outcomes during a guided historical tour using mobile AR applications. Data was collected in a laboratory (Study 1; N = 13) and outdoors (Study 2; N = 18) from thirty-one undergraduate students at a large North American university. Our findings demonstrated that learners were able to effectively and enjoyably learn about historical differences between past and present historical locations by contextualizing their visual representations, and that the two mobile AR apps were effective both in and outside of the laboratory. Learners were virtually situated in the historical location in Study 1 and physically visited the location in Study 2. In comparing results between studies, findings revealed that learners were able to identify more differences outdoors and required less scaffolding to identify differences. Learners reported high levels of enjoyment throughout both studies, but more enjoyment and less boredom in the outdoor study. Eye tracking results from Study 1 indicated that learners frequently compared historical information by switching their gaze between mobile devices and a Smart Board, which virtually situated them at the historical location. Results enhance our understanding of AR applications’ effectiveness in different contexts (virtual and location-based). Design recommendations for mobile AR apps are discussed.

Cultural development, especially in the field of education, can be realized through various media and concepts. The purpose of this study is to introduce the characters in the wayang “Wayang Krucil” which will have an impact on the development of the character of the nation’s successor to the Indonesian people, especially children and adolescents. This learning application can visualize the character of the “Wayang Krucil” 3D object through augmented reality without markers. This study follows the Borg and Gall development research method. The use of augmented reality has several objectives, namely (1) to provide cultural education related to the character of wayang krucil; (2) provide education on visualization of the form and movement of wayang kulit. 3D characters are designed using a low poly subdivision surface technique, with a minimum number of polys but still maintaining character details. The markerless Augmented reality method works by scanning the surrounding environment and no trigger image is required to capture augmented reality content. Based on the results of data analysis, the following important points are obtained (a) the information displayed is history, developmental figures, 3D characters of “Wayang Krucil” and descriptions; (b) The implementation of augmented reality without markers is also equipped with rotate and positioning functions. The result of this design is a Mobile Augmented Reality application which is a learning medium for the wayang krucil character. Based on lab test results, 87% of applications can be run starting from the installation stage, UI display, description display and AR display

Lately, mobile augmented reality (AR) has become very popular and is used for many commercial and product promotional activities. However, in almost all mobile AR applications, the user only views annotated information or the preset motion of the virtual object in an AR environment and is unable to interact with the virtual objects as if he/she were interacting with real objects in the real environment. In this paper, in an attempt to realize enhanced intuitive and realistic object manipulation in the mobile AR environment, we propose an integrated view-input AR interaction method, which integrates user device manipulation and virtual object manipulation. The method enables the user to hold a 3D virtual object by touching the displayed object on the 2D touch screen of a mobile device, and to move and rotate the object by moving and rotating the mobile device while viewing the held object by way of the 2D screen of the mobile device. Based on this concept, we implemented three types of integrated methods, namely the Rod, Center, and Touch methods, and conducted a user study to investigate the baseline performance metrics of the proposed method on an AR object manipulation task. The Rod method achieved the highest success rate (91%). Participants' feedback indicated that this is because the Rod method is the most natural, and evoked a fixed mental model that is conceivable in the real environment. These results indicated that visualizing the manipulation point on the screen and restricting the user's interactivity with virtual objects from the user's position of view based on a conceivable mental model would be able to aid the user to achieve precise manipulation.

Augmented Reality has a long history and has seen major technical advantages in the last years. With WebXR, a new web standard, Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) applications are now available in the web browser. With our work, we implemented an Augmented Reality Information System and conducted a case study to evaluate the user acceptance of such an application build with WebXR. Our results indicate that the user acceptance regarding web-based MAR applications for our specific use case seems to be given. With our proposed architecture we also lay the foundation for other AR information systems.

This paper introduces Memory Lane, a mobile augmented reality (AR) application designed to preserve and interpret the architectural legacy of Finnish architect Wivi Lönn through immersive, location-based storytelling. Centred on Tampere Central Fire Station, designed by Lönn, the AR prototype overlays historical narratives, photographs, and 3D reconstructions of lost buildings on the physical site. A virtual avatar of Wivi Lönn guides users through her architectural journey in both Finnish and English. Developed through participatory design workshops, the application emphasises low-threshold, accessible AR and supports cross-generational knowledge exchange and cultural memory. Early user feedback highlights the application’s value for heritage engagement, inclusivity, and immersive learning. This work contributes to research on AR for public history and heritage education by proposing “Location-based memory” as a design paradigm that bridges spatial experience, digital heritage, and community storytelling.

Virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have emerged from the framework of academic and industrial laboratories and have acquired global attention. Currently, the focus shifted from the technologies themselves to finding adequate teaching and learning applications. In this paper, the students' attitudes toward the application of mobile AR (MAR) in higher education (HE) were researched (with a focus on augmented textbooks). The results showed that the students have a mostly positive attitude, and it is concluded that there was no statistically significant difference between the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and non-STEM students' opinions regarding this topic. Based on the results, the further research and integration of this technology into HE settings can be suggested.

Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging technology in mobile app design during recent years. However, usability challenges in these apps are prominent. There are currently no established guidelines for designing and evaluating interactions in AR as there are in traditional user interfaces. In this work, we aimed to examine the usability of current mobile AR applications and interpreting classic usability heuristics in the context of mobile AR. Particularly, we focused on AR home design apps because of their popularity and ability to incorporate important mobile AR interaction schemas. Our findings indicated that it is important for the designers to consider the unfamiliarity of AR technology to the vast users and to take technological limitations into consideration when designing mobile AR apps. Our work serves as a first step for establishing more general heuristics and guidelines for mobile AR.

Good user experiences in Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) applications require timely processing and rendering of virtual objects on user devices. Today's wearable AR devices are limited in computation, storage, and battery lifetime. Edge computing, where edge devices are employed to offload part or all computation tasks, allows an acceleration of computation without incurring excessive network latency. In this paper, we use acyclic data flow graphs to model the computation and data flow in MAR applications and aim to minimize the makespan of processing input frames. Due to task dependencies and variable resource availability, makespan minimization is proven to be NP-hard in general. We design DPA, a polynomial-time heuristic algorithm for this problem. For special data flow graphs including chain or star, the algorithm can provide optimal solutions or solutions with a constant approximation ratio. The effectiveness of DPA has been evaluated using extensive simulations with realistic workloads and resource availability measured from a prototype implementation.