Research Overview For this project, the plan I have is to create either an educational Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality app that will help users understand the issues related to Hornsea Mere’s water pollution. Either way will incorporate the same core idea of being able to explore either the area around the mere or a mere inspired location through the app.  Users would be able to move through the area and look at different features around it. There would be some sort of prompt to aim user’s views towards certain areas where information boxes will then appear to inform the user of the related issue. These would include an issue description, how serious the issue is, and how people can help to reduce/resolve the issue.  The project is currently being undertaken by Groundwork Yorkshire who have gained a Water Restoration Fund grant1; however, they do not have many things available to help raise awareness on the issue apart from a couple of articles available online. Having an interactive experience available to users will create an engaging environment that users can learn about the issues in that would also be easily shareable especially if it is VR as you would not need to be on location to use that app.  The Mere has a 10km circular trail around it that walkers can access, along with smaller paths around the cafe and car park area.2 If an Augmented Reality experience was created, it could be accessed by scanning a QR code on one of these paths to show information around that select area in specific places from that viewpoint. Unlike in VR, you would not need to create boundaries to restrict user movement as the users would already be restricted by existing boundaries in real life, encouraging the user to stick to the paths.  With Augmented Reality being more accessible than VR as all you need is a smartphone, it will open the experience to more people. VR can also cause more motion sickness with users as they feel more in that world because it is all you can see, opposed to only seeing it through your phone where you can always have the option to look away without needing to remove a headset.  To keep the experience more engaging than just adding information around the area, including animal species that live in that habitat can add an extra layer of interest but also education. There are many different species of birds which can be spotted in the area, so creating different models of birds and placing them around can give the user more features to spot and possibly learn about as an extra feature. There are also a mix of plants that can be found in the area too which could be used to add more colour to the area.3  Project Plan The easiest way for users to interact with this Augmented Reality experience would be by scanning QR codes. Many/most smartphones nowadays have QR compatible cameras built in, meaning all they have to do to access the experience is point their camera at the code. This increases the ease of access to the experience as users do not have to type links or have the risk of image recognition not working.  Instead of having 1 build that would be used for a large area, splitting it up into multiple scenes could make it more accessible as then it would be less resource heavy, improving performance. This will be decided once research has started, as you may be able to see all/most issues from one area anyway. Better performance makes it less likely that users will get frustrated with a slow app and end up not using it at all. This also would break up the experience allowing the user to also still enjoy looking at the real scenery, not just through their phone. Overall, it would be more accessible too, as there would be more points of access, meaning if users entered the trail at a different point, they could find different scenes to explore instead of one main one at the main entry. Scaling the project down into multiple smaller scenes would also make the workload less as it would be easier to figure out real life scaling in smaller scenes.  Milestone Aims Trello Board Scene Research Because this experience will be Augmented Reality, I need to make sure that any objects in the virtual scene work well with what is in the real scene. This means that rough measurements will be required to accurately depict objects around the user and make information line up properly with their real-life versions.  Because the purpose of this experience is to help users understand issues the mere is facing, different scenes may focus on different issues. Some scenes could cover some of the same issues but having them spread over a couple of different scenes could encourage the users to explore the area more than if all information was given to them in one scene. It would also increase the ease of use as one scene wouldn’t end up being overcrowded with information if the information is spread across multiple.  To make sure the information is accurate, finding details on the issues are a must. Knowing what the issues are will also direct what 3D assets are made as these will be used to help show the issues that are present. With it being an educational experience, information needs to be correct to help users properly understand the issue.  This shouldn’t need too much time as sites like Google Maps and Google Earth will be helpful for finding rough distances. If they are roughly correct, the assets should look fine especially because it will be used on a smaller screen meaning users will not be able to overanalyse each asset.  3D Assets  3D assets will be used to bring more life and interest to the experience than just showing information on issues. Assets will include features such as trees and plants … Continue reading Research Proposal