AROUTCROP: AN AUGMENTED REALITY MOBILE APPLICATION FOR TEACHING GEOLOGY IN THE FIELD

Augmented reality (AR) provides an immersive environment where computer-generated textural and/or graphical information overlay natural features in real-time. Such computer-generated objects/data have the potential to supplement or “augment” reality in ways that enhance geoscience comprehension in the field. For example, when instructors stand at a distance from an outcrop and explain the features present, students sometimes struggle to recognize the subtle rock textures and fabrics that define the stratigraphic units and structures present, instead seeing only an amorphous mass of rock. AR technology might allow students to use their own mobile devices to better recognize, interpret, and comprehend the geology around them.

We created an AR app (AROutcrop) for Android mobile devices to evaluate the advantages/disadvantages of using AR approaches to teach geology in the field. Specifically, AROutcrop accesses the device’s GPS to locate nearby outcrops with available geoscience data, transforms the geographic real-world coordinates (e.g., lat/lon, UTM) for each AR object to AR coordinates, and overlays the various AR objects in the real-time view within the device’s camera environment. Students can use their mobile device to interact with various AR objects by: 1) clicking on AR placemarks strategically located on key outcrop features to open a dialog with text, graphics, data, and URL links describing the geology of each feature, 2) collecting a “rock sample” from the outcrop by placing an AR 3-D photogrammetry model of an actual rock specimen from the outcrop on the ground where students can walk around the AR “sample” and magnify it for more in-depth study, and 3) overlaying and geo-referencing (e.g., resizing/translating/rotating, etc.) an AR interpretation image over the entire outcrop to highlight specific features and/or rock layers. Preliminary trials of AROutcrop at a nearby quarry suggest that this novel approach has the potential to not only improve student learning and comprehension, but also to encourage students to engage in critical-thinking processes, to make careful observations while in the field, and to become better consumers of scientific knowledge.