WRAMP 2022 AR Team
Green Swimming Tasmanian Devils
WRAMP @ WPI
The Women’s Research and Mentorship Program (WRAMP) empowers and supports women in STEM through a multi-tiered mentor program and hands-on WPI graduate research. Within this program, teams of four are created, including one graduate student, one undergraduate student, and two high school students. Throughout the semester the team will work on the graduate student's research project together.
Max Chen
she/her/hers
First year PhD Student in Computational Media / Interactive Media & Game Development
🎮 I like playing video game, especially RPGs. I am a gaming enthusiast in experimenting new interfaces and game modding.
🎲 I am a huge fan in Dungeons & Dragons.
🪡 I enjoy doing creative art works such as paper crafting and I am currently learning quilting.
Rachel Foye
she/her/hers
Sophomore Data Science Major
- I love spending time outdoors, especially on the water! Hiking, skiing, long boarding, and exploring the coastline are my favorites.
- In my free time, I love to paint and create art! Recently, I've been experimenting with watercolor and collages.
- I enjoy relaxing and watching a good TV show! Stranger Things, Friends, and New Girl are my go-to favorites and I'd love to hear about any show recommendations that you have :)
Dinah Agyemang
Worcester Technical High School
Junior
- I love going on walks, playing tennis, trying new foods, and drawing!
- I love trying new things I haven’t before.
- I am in the Allied Health Trade at my school, and I will be CNA certified by June next year!
- My favorite color is green😁💚
Ava Stockton
She/Her/Hers
Worcester Technical High School junior
♡ I love gaming and I'm a part of my school's video gaming club. I prefer casual RPGs, Sims, or storytelling games like Stardew Valley, Slime Rancher, Minecraft, and one of my favorites What Remains of Edith Finch.
♡ I'm a collector of all sorts of things from the relatively normal Snowglobes to the slightly weird Cups.
♡ I'm a part of my school's WebDev (web development) shop.
What is Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) is the technology that enables computer-rendered images to be overlaid over the real world where we are physically located.
By tracking methods, AR can be classified as marker-based and markerless. Marker-based AR uses target images to mark the position in the given physical space, while markerless AR relies on other hardware to map the space. Compared with markerless AR, marker-based AR is low in cost and easy to build.
(Original) Research Questions
Exploring the design space for Augmented Reality
Marker-based AR application requires a trigger picture, QR code, or an object to activate the experience. A marker-based image recognition system includes several modules, such as camera input, image processing and recognition, and marker tracking. Customizing AR tracker is the initial step in creating an AR experience for a specific use case. For example, a special exhibition “Sustainable Singapore” delivers animations on top of posters to illustrate a diverse range of environmental themes and issues (video link can be found in the end).
However, most marker-based AR applications only use printed static images or plain QR codes as trackers for a good recognition performance. AR tracker generators including image generator Brosvision, QR code generator ARMaker, and ArUco, are highly focused on variety, neglecting the design space for creating graphical appealing trackers.
This research aims to find out the design criteria of visually appealing AR markers. We will create AR prototypes with different parameters using Unity Engine and Vuforia. Then we will use qualitative and quantitative methods to study the user experience.
Here we ask the following research questions:
How can we design an AR marker, that is both graphically appealing and good for being recognized by the AR system?
What are the opportunities and challenges in designing AR marker generators?
How does the physical embodiment of the AR marker affect the user’s perception?