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Brick warehouses represent interdisciplinary heritage sites developed by social, cultural, and economic impacts. This study aimed to connect warehouse details and GIS maps in augmented reality (AR) based on the former Camphor Refinery Workshop Warehouse. AR was applied as an innovation interface to communicate the differences between construction details, providing a feasible on-site solution for articulating historical brick engineering technology. A complex warehouse cluster was georeferenced by the AR models of brick details. The map was assisted by a smartphone-based comparison of the details of adjacent warehouses. Sixty AR models of warehouse details exemplified the active and sustainable preservation of the historical artifacts. The side-by-side allocation of warehouse details in AR facilitated cross-comparisons of construction differences. We found that a second reconstructed result integrated AR and reality in a novel manner based on the use of a smartphone AR. GIS and AR facilitated a management effort using webpages and cloud access from a remote site. The vocabulary of building details can be enriched and better presented in AR.

Theoretical subjects, such as history, usually do not attract the interest of students and as a result educational games and serious games that use augmented reality (AR) are increasingly used as a means of supporting education. It is believed that these games can make the lesson more engaging and contribute to improving student performance. However, relevant research is limited. The present research presents the AR-enhanced serious game “Exploring Ancient Greece” that aims at supporting 10- to 14-year-old students in learning the history of Ancient Greece. It consists of three levels that include: a presentation of archaeological sites with AR that gives students the chance to explore places of historical interest; a trivia game that includes an AR presentation of a monument or piece of art somewhere in the physical surroundings of the students; and an escape room where the player is trapped in an archaeological site and tries to solve riddles to find the exit. To evaluate the game, an empirical study was conducted involving students between the ages of 10 and 14 who answered knowledge questions before and after playing the game, completed a questionnaire including questions based on the System Usability Scale (SUS), as well as questions for evaluating their experience, and answered oral questions. Based on the results of this study, students improved their knowledge of history, evaluated the game positively and stated that they prefer the use of serious games and AR in education.

Augmented Reality (AR) is rapidly advancing, with a new focus on broadening accessibility beyond the visually dominant interfaces. This study explores the integration of audio-based non-visual interfaces within AR, aiming to cater to a diverse audience, including users with visual impairments. The objective was to develop a prototype that leverages audio feedback to facilitate interaction with the AR environment, enhancing spatial awareness and mental imagery for all users without relying on visual cues. Employing a user-centered design approach, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation with university students to assess the prototype’s usability and immersive potential compared to traditional touchscreen interfaces. The findings highlighted a pronounced preference for the Audio-Based Natural Interface, emphasizing its capacity to provide an intuitive and immersive AR experience through sound alone. These results underline the potential of audio feedback in creating more inclusive AR experiences, suggesting a paradigm shift towards developing AR technologies that are accessible to a wider user base. Our study concludes that audio-based non-visual interfaces represent a viable and innovative direction for AR development, advocating for their further exploration to ensure AR’s universality and inclusivity.

Virtual characters are now widely used in games, computer-generated (CG) movies, virtual reality (VR), and communication media. The continued technological innovations in motion capture mean that a more natural representation of a three-dimensional character’s motion should be achievable. Many researchers have investigated how virtual characters interact with their surrounding environment through spatial relationships, which were introduced for adapting and preserving character motion. However, technical problems should be resolved to enable the control of characters in augmented reality (AR) environments that combine with the real world, and this can be achieved by adapting motion to environmental differences using original motion datasets. In this paper, we investigate a novel method for preserving automatic motion adaptation for a virtual character in AR environments. We used specific object (e.g., puddle) recognition and the spatial properties of the user’s surrounding space, e.g., object types and positions, and ran validation experiments to provide accurate motion to improve the AR experience. Our experimental study showed positive results in terms of smooth motion in AR configurations. We also found that the participants using AR felt a greater sense of co-presence with the character through adapted motion.

Many studies have revealed the benefits of augmented reality (AR) to enhance productivity and fulfill a quality function in industry. Yet, the potential adverse effects of AR, such as physical stress, have not been extensively studied. This study investigates the effect of task difficulty (simple versus complex maintenance tasks) on the overall performance and physical stress of individuals while interacting with multimedia instructions (i.e., AR via HoloLens versus. paper-based guidance). Twenty-eight healthy male participants with a mean age of 32.12 years (standard deviation of 2.45 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: AR-based group and paper-based group. The metrics of total maintenance time, NASA-TLX scores, and heart rate variability (HRV) were used to evaluate overall performance, perceived workload, and physical stress, respectively. The findings suggest that AR-based instruction for a complex task significantly reduced both total maintenance time (by 14.94%) and physical stress in comparison with paper-based instruction. Paper-based instruction was found to destabilize heart rhythm, increase heart rate, and cause a shift in autonomic balance due to heightened sympathetic nerve activation. This study concludes that AR-based instruction is more efficient and less stressful than paper-based instruction, indicating that the AR system may offer independent benefits in reducing physical workloads.

Augmented reality (AR) could be a means for a more sustainable education of the next generation of pilots. This study aims to assess an AR-supported training concept for approach to landing, which is the riskiest phase of flying an aircraft and the most difficult to learn. The evaluation was conducted with 59 participants (28 women and 31 men) in a pretest–post-test control group design. No significant effect of the AR-supported training was observed when comparing the experimental and the control groups. However, the results show that for the experimental group that trained with AR, higher performance in post-test was associated with higher AR presence and comfort with AR during training. Although both gender groups improved their approach quality after training, the improvement was larger in women as compared to men. Trainees’ workload, fear of failure, and negative emotions decreased in post-test as compared to pre-test, but the decrease was significantly larger in women than in men. The experimental group who used AR support during training showed improved performance despite the absence of AR support in post-test. However, the AR-based training concept had a similar effect to conventional simulator training. Although more research is necessary to explore the training opportunities in AR and mixed reality, the results of this study indicate that such an application would be beneficial to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical instruction.

Percutaneous pedicle screw instrumentation is the keystone of minimally invasive spine surgery. Percutaneous screw placement demands experience and relies greatly on intra-operative image guidance. This study aims to validate the feasibility and accuracy of augmented-reality (AR)-assisted percutaneous pedicle screw instrumentation. One cadaveric torso was prepared for this study. After a pre-operative computed tomography (CT) scan, the images were transferred to an AR station to generate a 3D hologram. The 3D hologram and navigation images were projected to a pair of goggles with a display screen. With registration, the 3D spine hologram was overlayed onto the cadaver. Bilateral instrumentation from T6 to L5 was performed by two surgeons using AR assistance. A post-operative CT scan was obtained. The Gertzbein–Robbins scale (grade 0–3) was used for accuracy assessment. A total of 24 screws were placed. The overall screw accuracy was 87.5%. There were three major medial breaches that occurred on Rt T6/7/8, which were the most distant screws from the iliac reference. The cause of the three major medial breaches appeared to be related to their distance from the iliac reference. AR-assisted percutaneous pedicle screw instrumentation could improve anatomical visualization, facilitate surgical workflow, and provide an intuitive way of performing surgery.

Increasing global demand for travel has drawn public attention to the tourism industry. This industry needs the design of intelligent systems based on new concepts to facilitate better service delivery. To this end, this study proposes a ubiquitous tourist system based on context-awareness, multicriteria decision making (MCDM), and augmented reality (AR) using a geospatial information system (GIS). This system provides two services to the user. First, it recommends a hotel in the vicinity of the user based on their preferences. Subsequently, it modifies the information property to augment the information concerning the visited object using AR technology. This system offers the advantage of adapting its models based on the user and their environment using context-awareness, thereby facilitating increased system automation during service delivery. Furthermore, this system enables personalization based on user needs. Our system was evaluated via a usability test using a Likert scale based on two system aspects, namely, system design, and user acceptance of the result. The output of this test yielded an average score of 4.112. The proximity of this score to the highest level of the Likert scale indicates the acceptance of the system by users.

With the wave of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the construction industry is also witnessing the application of numerous state-of-the-art technologies. Among these, augmented reality (AR) technology has the advantage of utilizing existing 3D models and BIM data and is thus an area of active research. However, the main area of research to date has either been in visualizing information during the design phase, where architects and project stakeholders can share viewings, or in confirming the required information for construction management through visualization during the construction phase. As such, more research is required in the application of AR during the facility management (FM) phase. Research utilizing BIM in the FM phase, which constitutes the longest period during the lifecycle of a building, has been continuously carried out but has faced challenges with regard to on-site application. The reason for this is that information required for BIM during the design, construction and FM phases is different, and the reproduced information is vast, so identifying the required BIM data for FM and interfacing with other systems is difficult. As a measure to overcome this limitation, advanced countries such as the US and UK have developed and are using Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBie), which is an open-source BIM-based information exchange system. In order to effectively convert open-source BIM data to AR data, this research defined COBie data for windows and doors, converted them to a system and validated that it could actually be applied for on-site FM. The results of this system’s creation and validation showed that the proposed AR-based smart FMS demonstrated faster and easier access to information compared with existing 2D blueprint-based FM work, while information obtained through AR allowed for immediate, more visual and easier means to express the information when integrated with actual objects.

In tourist areas, it is necessary to prepare a method that supports tourists’ activities by providing information concerning disaster support facilities during normal times, in addition to sightseeing spots and tourism-related facilities, because there is a risk of confusion during disasters, as tourists are not aware of the locations of disaster support facilities. The present study aims to develop a navigation system that supports the activities of users during both normal times and disasters by integrating augmented reality (AR) and web geographic information systems (Web-GISs), as well as by using pictograms. The system can not only effectively provide users with information concerning sightseeing spots and tourism-related facilities but also information concerning disaster support facilities. The system was operated over a period of 6 weeks in Chofu City, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Based on the results of a questionnaire survey for 60 users, the system was highly evaluated for its originality in terms of displays and functions using pictograms, navigation using AR, and obtaining information during disasters. Additionally, based on the results of access log analysis, the system was continuously utilized by users during the operation period. Therefore, by continuously operating the system, it can be expected that users will further utilize each function of the system.

Recently, fire accidents in buildings have become bigger around the world, and it has become necessary to build an efficient building disaster management system suitable for fires in a Smart City. As building fires increase the number of casualties and property damage, it is necessary to take appropriate action accordingly. There has been an increasing effort to develop such disaster management systems worldwide by applying information communication technology (ICT), and many studies have been conducted in practice. In this paper, an augmented reality (AR)-based Smart Building and Town Disaster Management System is suggested in order to acquire visibility and to grasp occupants in case of fire disasters in buildings. This system provides visualization information and optimal guide for quick initial response by utilizing smart element AR-based disaster management service through linkage of physical virtual domain in the building. Additionally, we show a scenario flow chart of the fire extinguishment process according to the time from the ignition stage to the extinguishment stage in the building. Finally, we introduce the related sensors, the actuators, and a small test-bed for AR-based disaster management service. This test-bed was designed for interlocking and interoperability test of the system between the sensors and the actuators. It is expected that the proposed system can provide a quick and safe rescue guideline to the occupants and rescuers in the building where fire is generated and in regions of poor visibility.