Virtual experiments are a new way of doing experiments. A visible difference between virtual and real experiments is the interaction mode. Such a difference causes unfamiliarity and induces unnecessary cognitive load and inefficiency during learning. The objective of the research is to reduce the interactive operation difference between virtual and real experiments as much as possible. TIPTAB, a tangible interactive projection tabletop, is proposed for virtual experiments. A depth camera is used to detect tangible objects in the real environment. These objects are printed by three-dimensional (3D) printers in advance and tracked in real-time. The tracked 3D poses are then used as inputs for further experiments. Both object textures and scene contents are augmented by
How to intuitively illustrate phenomena while retaining good operation experiences is a key issue in experimental learning. Virtual experiments with desktop environments, handheld devices, or headsets can show invisible phenomena for students. However, they are either visuo-tactile inconsistent in space or with heavy physical burdens, causing bad experiences. A spatial augmented reality (SAR) based circuit experiment is developed. It allows students to interact with 3D (three dimensional) printed tangible objects without wearing any devices, having low physical burdens. Objects' poses are tracked using Microsoft Azure Kinect and inertial measurement unit. Virtual phenomena are projected onto the tangible objects and tabletop accordingly. Physical input and virtual output space are completely fused from students' view. It also offers efficient operation manners to students. A questionnaire comparing user experiences between the SAR and conventional experiment reveals that the former has a better learning experience.
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