Trends and Research Issues of Augmented Reality Studies in Architectural and Civil Engineering Education—A Review of Academic Journal Publications

Abstract

Architectural and civil engineering (ACE) education is inextricably connected to real-world practice. The application of augmented reality (AR) technology can help to establish a link between virtual and real-world information for students. Studies of applying AR in ACE education have increased annually, and numerous research have indicated that AR possesses immense application potential. To address and analyze pertinent research issues, published studies in the Scopus database were explored, and revealed that problems persist and are worthy of attention, such as the selection of system types and devices, the application of research methods, and appropriate learning strategies and teaching methods. Courses with objective grading standards should be given priority in AR experimental courses for a meticulous investigation of AR influence on students’ learning outcomes and ultimately improvement of classroom quality. Suitable types of AR systems should be selected based on course content, prior to the design and development of the system. It is recommended to develop markerless systems for a larger application range to benefit students with additional convenience. Systems can also be accompanied by functions, such as instant online assessments, synchronized assessments, and exchange capabilities to assist learning what has been taught and develop critical thinking abilities. The combination of AR and building information modeling (BIM) in architectural and civil practice, which has immense application potential, has become an emerging research trend. Collaboration between academics and practice should be enhanced with roles and knowledge of instructors, engineers, designers, and computer experts integrated for an optimal connection between general pedagogy and domain-specific learning. Teaching methods that emphasize “locations”, as well as “roles”, can be adopted in order to create a superior reality learning environment with diversified learning methods. The trends and research have become an integration and collaboration issue that should be performed interactively with pedagogical findings, and resources integrated across roles, fields, and university departments.

An Automatic Marker–Object Offset Calibration Method for Precise 3D Augmented Reality Registration in Industrial Applications

“…Therefore, the AR registration accuracy is determined by two matrices, one is the camera's intrinsic matrix that is obtained by camera calibration [4], and the other is the extrinsic matrix that is obtained by 6DoF (6 degrees of freedom) camera pose estimation or tracking. As reported by several significant reviews on the industrial AR applications [5,6], the markerbased method is accurate, robust, convenient, and requires no specific knowledge on AR or computer vision, therefore it takes the predominant position in obtaining the extrinsic matrix for industrial AR applications. The marker-based method directly takes the measured 6D camera pose relative to the marker center as the extrinsic matrix, and then project the virtual graphical object based on the assumption that the object's local coordinate system coincides with that of the marker's [7].…”

“…The marker-based method directly takes the measured 6D camera pose relative to the marker center as the extrinsic matrix, and then project the virtual graphical object based on the assumption that the object's local coordinate system coincides with that of the marker's [7]. However, the assumption does not always hold true in practical conditions, which leads to obvious visible AR registration error as illustrated in Figure 2b As reported by several significant reviews on the industrial AR applications [5,6], the marker-based method is accurate, robust, convenient, and requires no specific knowledge on AR or computer vision, therefore it takes the predominant position in obtaining the extrinsic matrix for industrial AR applications. The marker-based method directly takes the measured 6D camera pose relative to the marker center as the extrinsic matrix, and then project the virtual graphical object based on the assumption that the object's local coordinate system coincides with that of the marker's [7].…”

A Review and Scientometric Analysis of Global Building Information Modeling (BIM) Research in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry

“…Based on scientometric analysis, it shows the evolution of global BIM research across three different stages: (1) formulating stage; (2) accelerating stage; and (3) transforming stage. This section presents the features associated with transforming stage and critical reviews of the recent BIM research with integration with emerging technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR) [11], Geographical Information System (GIS) [12], and Internet of things (IoT) [13]. Diao and Shin [11] reviewed the literature on AR in AEC education industry and found that AR has wide application value in general education industry and some designated fields.…”

“…This section presents the features associated with transforming stage and critical reviews of the recent BIM research with integration with emerging technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR) [11], Geographical Information System (GIS) [12], and Internet of things (IoT) [13]. Diao and Shin [11] reviewed the literature on AR in AEC education industry and found that AR has wide application value in general education industry and some designated fields. The authors put forward that the combination of AR and building information model (BIM) has great application potential in architectural and civil practice and has become an emerging research direction.…”

Point Cloud-Oriented Inspection of Old Street’s Sustainable Transformation from the Ceramic Industry to Cultural Tourism: A Case Study of Yingge, a Ceramic Town in Taiwan

“…It enables real and virtual information in a real environment to be combined, registered, and interacted with in real-time [19][20][21]. AR applications have been successfully implemented in navigation, education, industry, and medical practice [22][23][24][25][26]. In tourism, AR can provide tourists with detailed local information [27][28][29][30].…”