BiodivAR: A Cartographic Authoring Tool for the Visualization of Geolocated Media in Augmented Reality

Abstract

Location-based augmented reality technology for real-world, outdoor experiences is rapidly gaining in popularity in a variety of fields such as engineering, education, and gaming. By anchoring medias to geographic coordinates, it is possible to design immersive experiences remotely, without necessitating an in-depth knowledge of the context. However, the creation of such experiences typically requires complex programming tools that are beyond the reach of mainstream users. We introduce BiodivAR, a web cartographic tool for the authoring of location-based AR experiences. Developed using a user-centered design methodology and open-source interoperable web technologies, it is the second iteration of an effort that started in 2016. It is designed to meet needs defined through use cases co-designed with end users and enables the creation of custom geolocated points of interest. This approach enabled substantial progress over the previous iteration. Its reliance on geolocation data to anchor augmented objects relative to the user’s position poses a set of challenges: On mobile devices, GNSS accuracy typically lies between 1 m and 30 m. Due to its impact on the anchoring, this lack of accuracy can have deleterious effects on usability. We conducted a comparative user test using the application in combination with two different geolocation data types (GNSS versus RTK). While the test’s results are undergoing analysis, we hereby present a methodology for the assessment of our system’s usability based on the use of eye-tracking devices, geolocated traces and events, and usability questionnaires.

An Enhancement of Outdoor Location-Based Augmented Reality Anchor Precision through VSLAM and Google Street View

“…Measuring anchor point precision and computation performance are important in studying the feasible approach to provide a good AR experience in the LAR solution because of the relatively higher contribution of location accuracy in the overall LAR user experience [ 57 , 58 ]. An interesting finding in the evaluation results highlighted the trade-off that comes with the proposed LAR implementation, which offers substantial accuracy enhancement and more precise alignment of augmented reality content with the real world, despite producing a greater computational and memory load on the device when compared to the conventional sensor fusion method.…”

Quantifying dwell time with location-based augmented reality: Dynamic AOI analysis on mobile eye tracking data with vision transformer

“…As a result, extracting any kind of actionable knowledge from this type of data or that of others that present similar challenges is difficult. In our use-case, MET data was gathered during a mobile application for biodiversity education's user test (Mercier et al, 2023). We wanted to measure the ratio of dwell time participants interacted with the mobile device screen to gauge the role played by technology in the use of our system.…”

“…Data was collected from November to December 2022 during the user test of a location-based augmented reality application (Mercier et al, 2023). We used Tobii Glasses 3 (see Figure 1(a)), which are lightweight but do not play well with prescription glasses wearers.…”

“…We present our use case: MET data collected during the usability test of a location-based augmented reality application for biodiversity education. One of the goal of this user test was to measure participants' dwell time on the tablet screen as opposed to looking up at the natural environment during 15-minute sessions (Mercier et al, 2023).…”

Impact of Geolocation Data on Augmented Reality Usability: A Comparative User Test

“…In order to address these identified issues, we developed Biod-ivAR 1 , a free and open source (GNU GPLv3.0) web application using a user-centered design process (Mercier et al, 2023).…”