Visualization Techniques in Augmented Reality: A Taxonomy, Methods and Patterns.

Three-dimensional sound's effectiveness in virtual reality (VR) environments has been widely studied. However, due to the big differences between VR and augmented reality (AR) systems in registration, calibration, perceptual difference of immersiveness, navigation, and localization, it is important to develop new approaches to seamlessly register virtual 3-D sound in AR environments and conduct studies on 3-D sound's effectiveness in AR context. In this paper, we design two experimental AR environments to study the effectiveness of 3-D sound both quantitatively and qualitatively. Two different tracking methods are applied to retrieve the 3-D position of virtual sound sources in each experiment. We examine the impacts of 3-D sound on improving depth perception and shortening task completion time. We also investigate its impacts on immersive and realistic perception, different spatial objects identification, and subjective feeling of human presence and collaboration. Our studies show that applying 3-D sound is an effective way to complement visual AR environments. It helps depth perception and task performance, and facilitates collaborations between users. Moreover, it enables a more realistic environment and more immersive feeling of being inside the AR environment by both visual and auditory means. In order to make full use of the intensity cues provided by 3-D sound, a process to scale the intensity difference of 3-D sound at different depths is designed to cater small AR environments. The user study results show that the scaled 3-D sound significantly increases the accuracy of depth judgments and shortens the searching task completion time. This method provides a necessary foundation for implementing 3-D sound in small AR environments. Our user study results also show that this process does not degrade the intuitiveness and realism of an augmented audio reality environment

Augmented reality imaging technology for orthopaedic surgery

Augmented reality sickness questionnaire (ARSQ): A refined questionnaire for augmented reality environment

Augmented reality environments face significant challenges in achieving context and semantic awareness, which are relevant for enhancing user experiences. Although machine learning has been extensively applied to areas such as object and action recognition, there is a knowledge gap in the integration of these techniques to improve contextual understanding in AR environments. This study explores how machine learning enhances object and action recognition, improving context awareness in augmented reality environments. A systematic review of fifteen studies revealed advancements in deep learning, semantic web, knowledge graphs, and multimodal interfaces, which collectively improved the capabilities of augmented reality systems. The findings include innovations in aspects such as 3D hand pose estimation, semantic gaze analysis through eye tracking, and hybrid approaches that optimize real-time processing. These developments improve augmented and mixed reality environments by enabling more realistic, interactive, and responsive applications. However, persistent challenges such as latency, scalability, and environmental adaptation underscore the need for more research. These results suggest a guide for the development of highly immersive and efficient AR/MR systems, with the potential to improve user interaction and operational capabilities.

Practical exercises are a crucial part of many curricula. Even simple exercises can improve the understanding of the underlying subject. Most experimental setups require special hardware. To carry out e. g. a lens experiments the students need access to an optical bench, various lenses, light sources, apertures and a screen. In our previous publication we demonstrated the use of augmented reality visualization techniques in order to let the students prepare with a simulated experimental setup. Within the context of our intended blended learning concept we want to utilize augmented or virtual reality techniques for stationary laboratory exercises. Unlike applications running on mobile devices, stationary setups can be extended more easily with additional interfaces and thus allow for more complex interactions and simulations in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The most significant difference is the possibility to allow interactions beyond touching a screen. The LEAP Motion controller is a small inexpensive device that allows for the tracking of the user’s hands and fingers in three dimensions. It is conceivable to allow the user to interact with the simulation’s virtual elements by the user’s very hand position, movement and gesture. In this paper we evaluate possible applications of the LEAP Motion controller for simulated experiments in augmented and virtual reality. We pay particular attention to the devices strengths and weaknesses and want to point out useful and less useful application scenarios. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Recupera algunos de los elementos menos estudiados y reconocidos en el ensayo latinoamericano: su profunda vocación de reflexión, diálogo y mediación intelectual; su plasticidad y apertura a la búsqueda del sentido; su vínculo con la sociabilidad, la conversación y la generación de un espacio simbólico de encuentro; su capa cidad de establecer una nueva retroalimentación entre lectura y escritura.

Extended-Reality Technologies: An Overview of Emerging Applications in Medical Education and Clinical Care.

The purpose of the research is to compare the impact of students’ learning performance between an augmented reality (AR) environment and in-class environment. To create an efficient AR environment, we used Microsoft HoloLens, which is the next generation of a see-through holographic computer. We developed the AR learning module: ergonomic guidelines for manual material handling (MMH). We hypothesize that AR changes the way students understand the concepts of MMH. Our analysis includes a careful evaluation of student experimental skills during the learning activities. This new AR environment could allow students to engage hands-on training of MMH and strengthen their understanding. Student test score was used as metrics for performance assessment. We found a significant improvement on student understanding of MMH lecture after they used the AR module. The findings of this study indicated the potential benefits of using AR environment interfaces in engineering education and training.

Virtual characters are now widely used in games, computer-generated (CG) movies, virtual reality (VR), and communication media. The continued technological innovations in motion capture mean that a more natural representation of a three-dimensional character’s motion should be achievable. Many researchers have investigated how virtual characters interact with their surrounding environment through spatial relationships, which were introduced for adapting and preserving character motion. However, technical problems should be resolved to enable the control of characters in augmented reality (AR) environments that combine with the real world, and this can be achieved by adapting motion to environmental differences using original motion datasets. In this paper, we investigate a novel method for preserving automatic motion adaptation for a virtual character in AR environments. We used specific object (e.g., puddle) recognition and the spatial properties of the user’s surrounding space, e.g., object types and positions, and ran validation experiments to provide accurate motion to improve the AR experience. Our experimental study showed positive results in terms of smooth motion in AR configurations. We also found that the participants using AR felt a greater sense of co-presence with the character through adapted motion.

This paper focuses on the scientific impact of 3D digital spatial representations in indoor architectural buildings via Augmented Reality (AR) techniques. These 3D spatial representations refer to both changes of proposed structures, design and collaboration process, guiding visitors experiences, simulations of interdisciplinary information, as well as architectural design, building geometry and modeling process in AR environment. It analyses only the scientific impact of these 3D representations aspects, highlights the innovative representation aspects and quotes main limitations and perspectives.

With the increasing adoption of smart glasses, there is a growing need for efficient and precise input techniques in augmented reality (AR) environments. Current input options, like smartphones and hand-tracking, have limitations, such as requiring external devices to be picked up or needing sufficient space in front of the user. We propose an inner wrist-worn device with a trackball that allows users to operate it by sliding their wrist against their body. This technique provides precise, long-range pointing without extensive motion space and enables continuous interaction. Experiments show that this technique achieves reliable pointing performance regardless of user posture or sliding area. Potential applications we developed include shooting games, gesture control, and smartwatch input, demonstrating its effectiveness for compact and precise interactions in AR/VR environment and daily use.

This study aimed to explore whether integrating augmented reality (AR) techniques could support a software editing course and to examine the different learning effects for students using online‐based and AR‐based blended learning strategies. The researcher adopted a comparative research approach with a total of 103 college students participating in the study. The experimental group (E.G.) learned with the AR‐based contents, while the control group (C.G.) learned with the online‐based support. The findings demonstrated the potential of AR techniques for supporting students' learning motivation and peer learning interaction, and the AR‐based contents could be used as scaffolding to better support blended learning strategies. The AR‐based learning interaction could also be a trigger arousing learners' interest in becoming active learners and the students presented great learning involvement after the AR‐based supports were removed, while the learners in the C.G. were passive once the supports had been removed. Moreover, it was found that (1) their lack of experience with AR interaction and applications, (2) the slow speed of the Internet in the school, (3) the affordances of each learner's mobile learning devices, (4) the screen size of the learning interface and (5) the overloading of the learning information from the AR contents and teacher lectures might be the reasons why the learners were still more used to the online‐based support. It was therefore concluded that when integrating AR applications into a course, technology educational researchers should take into careful consideration the target learning content design, the amount of information displayed on the mobile screen and the affordances of the learning equipment and classroom environment so as to achieve a suitable learning scenario.

Visual Augmented Reality (AR) typically overlays virtual computer graphics or other virtual contents on the real world videos, attracting much interest from both academic and industrial communities. Although AR techniques on planes are well studied, cylindrical objects are seldom used for augmented reality. In this paper, we propose a new method for 3D reconstruction and 6D pose computation for augmented reality on a cylindrical object. The 6D pose is the relative pose between the camera and the cylindrical object, which is very convenient to make augmented reality. First, we capture some images with a cylindrical object and then reconstruct its 3D model with textures offline by using projective invariance and image contours. Second, according to the 3D model, we track the 6D relative pose between the camera and the cylindrical object online, where we propose a linear P3P RANSAC to remove outliers. Finally, the virtual images are exactly aligned with the cylindrical object in the real world. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the state of the arts in terms of 3D mapping and 6D pose computation on cylindrical objects.

Human behavior is considered to be the weakest link in the field of cybersecurity. Despite the development of a wide range of Augmented Reality (AR) applications in various domains, no AR application is available to educate users and increase their awareness of cybersecurity issues. Thus, we developed a game based on AR techniques as an Android app called CybAR. Since there have been few acceptance studies in the field of AR, it was particularly important to identify the factors that affect user acceptance of AR technology. Technology acceptance studies typically predict behavioral adoption by investigating the relationship between attitudes and intentions, even though intention may not be the best predictor of actual behavior. Personality constructs and dimensions of cultural difference have recently been found to explain even more variance in behavior and provide insights into user behavior. The objective of this study is to identify the personality traits that affect users' acceptance of CybAR and increase their cybersecurity awareness. The study also aims to identify cultural factors that influence acceptance of CybAR by comparing Saudi Arabian and Australian users according to Hofstede's cultural value dimensions. Thus the potential predictors of CybAR app usage were derived from the extended unified theory of acceptance and usage of technology (UTAUT2), personality traits, and cultural moderators.

Augmented Reality (AR) technology offers innovative ways in order to visualize and manipulate a 3D model of an object by superimposing computer-generated images onto another object interactively. The ability to interact with digital and spatial information in real-time offers new opportunities to manipulate and process medical data easily and efficiently. During surgical interventions, surgeons face various challenges dealing with digital patient data. Several methods are used to visualize the operative areas, such as fluoroscopy and ultrasound techniques. These techniques have several limitations. Thus, the augmented reality technique could serve as a better alternative to project a three-dimensional model of the target organ into the surgeon's perspective and field of view to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the medical intervention intraoperatively. In this paper, a new AR method is proposed in order to visualize and simulate the biomechanical model of the liver organ during open hepatic surgery. In this regard, the 3D model based on the patient's preoperative CT scans is first reconstructed. Then, the reconstructed model is projected using the AR headset. After that, the biomechanical model is generated and prepared for the simulation. The proposed approach is validated using acquired CT scans of the human organ.