Hands-Free Navigation in Immersive Environments for the Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Indoor Navigation Systems

While navigation systems for cars are in widespread use, only recently, indoor navigation systems based on smartphone apps became technically feasible. Hence tools in order to plan and evaluate particular designs of information provision are needed. Since tests in real infrastructures are costly and environmental conditions cannot be held constant, one must resort to virtual infrastructures. This paper presents the development of an environment for the support of the design of indoor navigation systems whose center piece consists in a hands-free navigation method using the Microsoft Kinect in the four-sided Definitely Affordable Virtual Environment (DAVE). Navigation controls using the user's gestures and postures as the input to the controls are designed and implemented. The installation of expensive and bulky hardware like treadmills is avoided while still giving the user a good impression of the distance she has traveled in virtual space. An advantage in comparison to approaches using a head mounted display is that the DAVE allows the users to interact with their smartphone. Thus the effects of different indoor navigation systems can be evaluated already in the planning phase using the resulting system

Augmented Reality for Airport Control Tower: Analysis and Implementation of Safety Nets

With the development of new technologies, Air Traffic Control, in the nearby of the airport, switched from a purely visual control to the use of radar, sensors and so on. As the industry is switching to the so-called Industry 4.0, also in this frame, it would be possible to implement some of the new tools that can facilitate the work of Air Traffic Controllers. The European Union proposed an innovative project to help the digitalization of the European Sky by means of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) program, which is the foundation on which the Single European Sky (SES) is based, in order to improve the already existing technologies to transform Air Traffic Management in Europe. Within this frame, the Resilient Synthetic Vision for Advanced Control Tower Air Navigation Service Provision (RETINA) project, which saw the light in 2016, studied the possibility to apply new tools within the conventional control tower to reduce the air traffic controller workload, thanks to the improvements in the augmented reality technologies. After the validation of RETINA, the Digital Technologies for Tower (DTT) project was established and the solution proposed by the University of Bologna aimed, among other things, to introduce Safety Nets in a Head-Up visualization. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the Safety Nets in use within the control tower and, by developing a working concept, implement them in a Head-Up view to be tested by Air Traffic Control Operators (ATCOs). The results, coming from the technical test, show that this concept is working and it could be leading to a future implementation in a real environment, as it improves the air traffic controller working conditions also when low visibility conditions apply.

Augmented Reality for Games

In this text, we intend to explore augmented reality as a means to visualise interactive communication projects. With ARToolkit, Virtools and 3ds Max applications, we aim to show how to create a portable interactive platform that resorts to the environment and markers for constructing the game’s scenario. We plan to show that the realism of simulation, together with the merger of artificial objects with the real world, can generate interactive empathy between players and their avatars.

ISEGI-NOVA AR Project - Augmented Reality Aplied to the Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Project work presented as a partial requirement to obtain a Master Degree in Information Management

Possible uses of augmented reality as a tool for guidance of users of packages

Acioly, A. S. G., Soares, M. M., & Arezes, P. M. (2015). Possible uses of augmented reality as a tool for guidance of users of packages. Paper presented at the Occupational Safety and Hygiene III - Selected Extended and Revised Contributions from the International Symposium on Safety and Hygiene.

Augmented Reality als Anwendungstechnologie in der Automobilindustrie

Augmented Reality, Tracking, ARMON, AR-AUTOR, Autorenumgebung

Untersuchungen zu nutzerbezogenen und technischen Aspekten beim Langzeiteinsatz mobiler Augmented Reality Systeme in industriellen Anwendungen

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2009

Vergleich verschiedener Navigationsarten von kopfgetragenen Augmented-Reality-Displays: Visuelle Leistungen und "Blindheit" durch Nichtaufmerksamkeit

Magdeburg, Univ., Med. Fak., Diss., 2012

Untersuchungen zum Einsatz der Augmented Reality Technologie für Soll/Ist-Vergleiche von Betriebsmitteln in der Fertigungsplanung

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2012

Indoor Localization Solutions for a Marine Industry Augmented Reality Tool

In this report are described means for indoor localization in special, challenging circum-stances in marine industry. The work has been carried out in MARIN project, where a tool based on mobile augmented reality technologies for marine industry is developed. The tool can be used for various inspection and documentation tasks and it is aimed for improving the efficiency in design and construction work by offering the possibility to visualize the newest 3D-CAD model in real environment. Indoor localization is needed to support the system in initialization of the accurate camera pose calculation and auto-matically finding the right location in the 3D-CAD model. The suitability of each indoor localization method to the specific environment and circumstances is evaluated.

Augmented reality systems for weed economic thresholds applications

The augmented reality (AR) technology has applications in many fields as diverse as aeronautics, tourism, medicine, and education. In this review are summarized the current status of AR and it is proposed a new application of it in weed science. The basic algorithmic elements for AR implementation are already available to develop applications in the area of weed economic thresholds. These include algorithms for image recognition to identify and quantify weeds by species and software for herbicide selection based on weed density. Likewise, all hardware necessary for AR implementation in weed science are available at an affordable price for the user. Thus, the authors propose weed science can take a leading role integrating AR systems into weed economic thresholds software, thus, providing better opportunities for science and computer-based weed control decisions.

Depth sensors in augmented reality solutions. Literature review

The emergence of depth sensors has made it possible to track – not only monocular cues – but also the actual depth values of the environment. This is especially useful in augmented reality solutions, where the position and orientation (pose) of the observer need to be accurately determined. This allows virtual objects to be installed to the view of the user through, for example, a screen of a tablet or augmented reality glasses (e.g. Google glass, etc.). Although the early 3D sensors have been physically quite large, the size of these sensors is decreasing, and possibly – eventually – a 3D sensor could be embedded – for example – to augmented reality glasses. The wider subject area considered in this review is 3D SLAM methods, which take advantage of the 3D information available by modern RGB-D sensors, such as Microsoft Kinect. Thus the review for SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) and 3D tracking in augmented reality is a timely subject. We also try to find out the limitations and possibilities of different tracking methods, and how they should be improved, in order to allow efficient integration of the methods to the augmented reality solutions of the future.

Towards Evaluating and Modelling the Impacts of Mobile-Based Augmented Reality Applications on Learning and Engagement

Mobile augmented reality applications are increasingly utilized as a medium for enhancing learning and engagement in history education. Although these digital devices facilitate learning through immersive and appealing experiences, their design should be driven by theories of learning and instruction. We provide an overview of an evidence-based approach to optimize the development of mobile augmented reality applications that teaches students about history. Our research aims to evaluate and model the impacts of design parameters towards learning and engagement. The research program is interdisciplinary in that we apply techniques derived from design-based experiments and educational data mining. We outline the methodological and analytical techniques as well as discuss the implications of the anticipated findings.