Extending an Existing VR Software Framework to support AR Applications - With an Example from Physics Classes
Florian Mannuß, Florian Bingel, André Hinkenjann · Journal on Interactive Systems · 2013
We present our approach to extend a Virtual Reality software framework towards the use for AugmentedReality applications. Although VR and AR applications have very similar requirements in terms of abstract components(like 6DOF input, stereoscopic output, simulation engines), the requirements in terms of hardware and software varyconsiderably. In this article we would like to share the experience gained from adapting our VR software framework forAR applications. We will address design issues for this task. The result is a VR/AR basic software that allows us toimplement interactive applications without fixing their type (VR or AR) beforehand. Switching from VR to AR is a matterof changing the configuration file of the application. We also give an example of the use of the extended framework:Augmenting the magnetic field of bar magnets in physics classes. We describe the setup of the system and the realtimecalculation of the magnetic field, using a GPU.