Authoring and Living Next-Generation Location-Based Experiences

Authoring location-based experiences involving multiple participants, collaborating or competing in both indoor and outdoor mixed realities, is extremely complex and bound to serious technical challenges. In this work, we present the first results of the MAGELLAN European project and how these greatly simplify this creative process using novel authoring, augmented reality (AR) and indoor geolocalisation techniques

Seamless and Secure VR: Adapting and Evaluating Established Authentication Systems for Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) headsets are enabling a wide range of new opportunities for the user. For example, in the near future users may be able to visit virtual shopping malls and virtually join international conferences. These and many other scenarios pose new questions with regards to privacy and security, in particular authentication of users within the virtual environment. As a first step towards seamless VR authentication, this paper investigates the direct transfer of well-established concepts (PIN, Android unlock patterns) into VR. In a pilot study (N = 5) and a lab study (N = 25), we adapted existing mechanisms and evaluated their usability and security for VR. The results indicate that both PINs and patterns are well suited for authentication in VR. We found that the usability of both methods matched the performance known from the physical world. In addition, the private visual channel makes authentication harder to observe, indicating that authentication in VR using traditional concepts already achieves a good balance in the trade-off between usability and security. The paper contributes to a better understanding of authentication within VR environments, by providing the first investigation of established authentication methods within VR, and presents the base layer for the design of future authentication schemes, which are used in VR environments only

Overview of open source augmented reality toolkit

Augmented reality or also known as AR is not a new technology. The technology has existed for almost 40 years ago after Ivan Sutherland introduced the first virtual reality (VR) application. At that time, works and research were mainly concerned to establish the hardware aspects of the technology. The head-mounted display (HMD) or some might called head-worn display is the result of augmented reality research and also one of the fundamental equipment for accessing the technology. As time goes by, the augmented reality technology has begin to mature to a point where the hardware cost and capabilities have collided to deliver a more feasible AR thus enable the rapid development of AR applications in many fields including education. To create a non-commercial AR application specifically for education, the ARToolkit can be taken into consideration. ARToolkit is the product of AR community and it is registered under the GNU General Public License. The user is provided with basic source code that lets the user easily develop Augmented Reality applications. Despite the fact that AR is not a new technology, people may unaware or unfamiliar with its existence. Therefore this paper is intended to (1) give an overview of augmented reality; and provides (2) solution to the technical problems that one’s will face in setting up open-source augmented reality toolkit

Cross-Dimensional Gestural Interaction Techniques for Hybrid Immersive Environments

We present a set of interaction techniques for a hybrid user interface that integrates existing 2D and 3D visualization and interaction devices. Our approach is built around one- and two-handed gestures that support the seamless transition of data between co-located 2D and 3D contexts. Our testbed environment combines a 2D multi-user, multi-touch, projection surface with 3D head-tracked, see-through, head-worn displays and 3D tracked gloves to form a multi-display augmented reality. We also address some of the ways in which we can interact with private data in a collaborative, heterogeneous workspace

Reviving the Euston Arch: A Mixed Reality Approach to Cultural Heritage Tours

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) users have distinct capabilities and experiences during Extended Reality (XR) collaborations: while AR users benefit from real-time contextual information due to physical presence, VR users enjoy the flexibility to transition between locations rapidly, unconstrained by physical space.Our research aims to utilize these spatial differences to facilitate engaging, shared XR experiences. Using Google Geospatial Creator, we enable large-scale outdoor authoring and precise localization to create a unified environment. We integrated Ubiq to allow simultaneous voice communication, avatar-based interaction and shared object manipulation across platforms.We apply AR and VR technologies in cultural heritage exploration. We selected the Euston Arch as our case study due to its dramatic architectural transformations over time. We enriched the co-exploration experience by integrating historical photos, a 3D model of the Euston Arch, and immersive audio narratives into the shared AR/VR environment