Virtual reality concepts have been widely adapted to teach geoscientific content, most notably in virtual field trips—with increased developments due to recent travel restrictions and challenges of field access. On the spectrum between real and fully virtual environments are also combinations of digital and real content in mixed-reality environments. In this category, augmented-reality (AR) sandboxes have been used as a valuable tool for science outreach and teaching due to their intuitive and haptic interaction-enhancing operation. Most of the common AR-sandboxes are limited to the visualization of topography with contour lines and colors, as well as water simulations on the digital terrain surface. We show here how we can get beyond this limitation, through an open-source implementation of an AR-sandbox system with a versatile interface written in the free and cross-platform programming language Python. This implementation allows for creative and novel applications in geosciences education and outreach in general. With a link to a 3-D geomodelling system, we show how we can display geologic subsurface information such as the outcropping lithology, creating an interactive geological map for structural geology classes. The relations of subsurface structures, topography, and outcrop can be explored in a playful and comprehensible way. Additional examples include the visualizations of geophysical fields and the propagation of seismic waves, as well as simulations of Earth surface processes. We further extended the functionality with ArUco-marker detection to enable more precise and flexible interaction with the projected content. In combination, with these developments, we aim to make AR-sandbox systems, with the additional dimension of haptic interactions, accessible to a wider range of geoscientific applications for education and outreach.
<p>Augmented Reality Sandboxes are a valuable tool for science outreach and teaching due to their intuitive and haptic interaction-enhancing operation. Most of the common AR-Sandboxes are limited to the visualization of topography with contour lines and colours, as well as water simulations on the digital terrain surface. However, many geologists will intuitively want to use this system to visualize geology and literally &#8220;dig deeper&#8221;, to see how geological units change below the surface. In fact, if we consider the AR-Sandbox in its bare essential, as a 2.5-D haptic dynamic interface to a 3-D or 4-D system, then many more potential applications come to mind: from geological education and outreach, over the representation of geophysical fields, to dynamic simulations.&#160;</p><p>In this contribution, we present an open-source implementation of an AR-Sandbox system with an interface in Python, which enables simple access to this tool. This implementation allows for creative and novel applications in geosciences education and outreach in general. With a link to a 3-D geomodelling system, we show how we can display geologic subsurface information such as the outcropping lithology, creating an interactive geological map for structural geology classes. The relations of subsurface structures, topography and outcrop, can be explored in a playful and comprehensible way. Additional examples are geoelectric fields and the propagation of seismic waves, as well as simulations of landslides at the surface. We further extended the functionality with an implementation of ArUco marker detection to enable interactive cross-section generation, among other examples. Many other implementations can be envisaged for the use of this system, and we look forward to creative contributions to geoscience education.</p>
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