Using the Geospatial Creator to Augment Murals in a Markerless AR Application and Investigating its Applicability as Part of the Mural Harbor Outdoor Art Exhibition

Abstract

Augmented reality can bring real-world images, such as graffiti, to life by augmenting
the real environment with virtual elements or replacing parts with virtual objects.
Current research shows that in the choice of technology for outdoor augmented reality experiences, marker-based tracking methods such as Image Recognition have higher
accuracy but can quickly become unstable if the markers are obscured by vehicles or
crowds or viewed from a too small/large distance, thus limiting the implementation
possibilities to the visibility of the marker. With the release of Geospatial Creator by
Google, there is now a new tracking option that not only promises high accuracy but
also incorporates the benefits of markerless tracking, potentially opening up new applications.
Therefore, a prototype was developed for Mural Harbor, an outdoor art exhibition
displaying murals in Linz/Austria, and used to test this new technology by utilising
the spacious area and large exhibited murals. Furthermore, new applications such as
mini-games with effects on virtual environment, interaction between murals, navigation elements (landmarks) or decorative elements without a real counterpart that can
enhance or change the storytelling of the real environment were elaborated. To compare
these two technologies, existing ways of interacting with murals based on both Geospatial tracking and Image Recognition were also implemented. The concepts implemented
in the prototype were then analysed in a qualitative in-situ study with ten people using
the Interview Guide Approach followed by a questionnaire. The results of the study
show that the applications based on the use of Geospatial tracking had the most positive impact on users – including mini-games and the interaction between murals – and
that participants found it favourable to be able to see them from a distance. On the
other hand, the use of virtual environment effects could benefit from improvement, as
participants did not always recognise the purpose of their placement.
Thus, Geospatial tracking can create experiences that allow for a deeper emotional
connection with the user, but with a greater risk, as the accuracy is highly location
dependent and can therefore vary at different points within the same area, unlike Image
Recognition, which offers the most accurate tracking. It can be concluded that although
the use of Geospatial tracking cannot replace Image Recognition when tracking needs
to be accurate, it allows new approaches to storytelling with greater variety and easier
development of an outdoor augmented reality application.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English (American)
Supervisor	Martin Kocur (Supervisor)