IDAT 204 - Brainstorming for AR ideas

In order for me to develop my ideas and place all my knowledge of augmented reality into one place, I decided to create a mind map of everything I could think of in relation to the topic.  The aim of this was to help me explore the various elements of AR that I found interesting including its main functions, uses and content topics.  Below is an image of the mind map I created, you will need to click on this image to be able to explore the mind map properly:

From this exploration of augmented reality I came up with a number of key elements that I felt more focused on and then developed these into a few possible ideas to choose from.  My main focuses were learning, use of rotation, matrix markers, and functionality. These along with the knowledge I had logged were then used to create a few ideas which are listed in the map and include:

• caring for a plant: could be used in schools to teach care and organic science. This however has been done a few times before.
• investigating planets: the rotation could enable a better look at the planets structures up close, and the AR could help to demonstrate the solar system as a whole
• The AR cube based game: as orginally concieved the game would have a 3D cube as the AR object which would need to be rotated in order to solve a puzzle.
• Maternity AR: To help mothers-to-be to get a better impression of their babies growth etc when in the womb.
• AR notepad: important reminders could be placed in locations where they originated using GPS and an interface so that they are more accessible and viewable (if using AR glasses) to all concerned e.g family notices etc

Out of all of these concepts however I decided the planet based concept would be the most successful, as it can be used for teaching purposes therefore giving it fuctionality and a learning basis, will be able to be created using the matrix markers, and matrix marker rotation can be used for better investigation. This project will also take advantage of other key elements that are important to the successful use of AR such as:

• use of space - AR can be used in almost any space as it is virtual and so space is not needed for any real physical objects, apart from the matrix marker, and can be removed easily and quickly at any time
• 3D modelling - provides the user with a virtual 3D object to manipulate - 2D AR does not add to the users experience as it is just like seeing something on a computer screen
• Visualising the unaccessible - It is not possible for people to see the solar system so this use of AR provides them with that possibility.  A range of AR is used for this purpose such as AR hairstyles and AR for architecture.

I will now investigate into my planet exploration concept to develop a specific design for the project.