No abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) sandboxes make use of play sand, a depth sensor (to sense the topography in the sand), a computer (to run calculations), and a projector (to display a responsive topographic height map onto the sand). AR sandboxes can be found in schools and museums across the world being used to teach students and patrons about topography, runoff, and other geological topics. The sandboxes provide a mixed reality experience as the users manipulate standard play sand but view simulated rain and water runoff. In this work, an additional transport equation is added to standard augmented reality sandbox algorithm. This transport equation allows modeling of contaminants as a point source or as runoff from a specified area. The transport of fluid and contaminants is driven by gravity and gradients across cells, The presence of pollution in the simulated water is displayed through a new visual texture with the color and opacity of the texture conveying the concentration of the contamination. The inclusion of this additional transport equation extends the educational application of the AR sandbox.