Integrating Augmented Reality and Geolocation for Outdoor Interactive Educational Experiences

This paper presents an augmented reality (AR) mobile application developed for Android devices, which brings five bust sculptures of historical personalities of the city of Komotini, Greece, to ‘life’ using the Unity engine. These busts narrate their achievements in two languages, Greek and English,...

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Main Authors: Christos Mourelatos, Michalis Vrigkas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Virtual Worlds
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2813-2084/4/2/18
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author Christos Mourelatos
Michalis Vrigkas
author_facet Christos Mourelatos
Michalis Vrigkas
author_sort Christos Mourelatos
collection DOAJ
description This paper presents an augmented reality (AR) mobile application developed for Android devices, which brings five bust sculptures of historical personalities of the city of Komotini, Greece, to ‘life’ using the Unity engine. These busts narrate their achievements in two languages, Greek and English, to educate visitors on historical and cultural heritage and provide a comprehensive glimpse into the area’s past using 3D models, textures, and animations tailored to the educational content. Based on the users’ location, the application provides an interactive educational experience, allowing the users to explore the history and characteristics of the busts in an innovative way. The users may interact with the busts using markerless AR, discover information and historical facts about them, and stimulate their understanding of the busts’ significance in the context of local history and culture. Interactive elements, such as videos and 3D animations, are incorporated to enrich the learning experience. A location-based knowledge quiz game was also developed for this purpose. The application was evaluated by statistical analysis to measure the effect of using the application on the involvement of users in the educational process and to study the users’ satisfaction and experience. This approach revealed that the proposed AR app is effective in providing educational content, promotes active user participation, and provides a high level of user satisfaction.
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spelling doaj-art-89556512dd6243b283bd79ae3258ee432025-08-20T03:29:43ZengMDPI AGVirtual Worlds2813-20842025-05-01421810.3390/virtualworlds4020018Integrating Augmented Reality and Geolocation for Outdoor Interactive Educational ExperiencesChristos Mourelatos0Michalis Vrigkas1Department of Communication and Digital Media, University of Western Macedonia, 52100 Kastoria, GreeceDepartment of Communication and Digital Media, University of Western Macedonia, 52100 Kastoria, GreeceThis paper presents an augmented reality (AR) mobile application developed for Android devices, which brings five bust sculptures of historical personalities of the city of Komotini, Greece, to ‘life’ using the Unity engine. These busts narrate their achievements in two languages, Greek and English, to educate visitors on historical and cultural heritage and provide a comprehensive glimpse into the area’s past using 3D models, textures, and animations tailored to the educational content. Based on the users’ location, the application provides an interactive educational experience, allowing the users to explore the history and characteristics of the busts in an innovative way. The users may interact with the busts using markerless AR, discover information and historical facts about them, and stimulate their understanding of the busts’ significance in the context of local history and culture. Interactive elements, such as videos and 3D animations, are incorporated to enrich the learning experience. A location-based knowledge quiz game was also developed for this purpose. The application was evaluated by statistical analysis to measure the effect of using the application on the involvement of users in the educational process and to study the users’ satisfaction and experience. This approach revealed that the proposed AR app is effective in providing educational content, promotes active user participation, and provides a high level of user satisfaction.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-2084/4/2/18augmented realitylocation-based ARmobile applicationeducational ARmobile learninggamification
spellingShingle Christos Mourelatos
Michalis Vrigkas
Integrating Augmented Reality and Geolocation for Outdoor Interactive Educational Experiences
Virtual Worlds
augmented reality
location-based AR
mobile application
educational AR
mobile learning
gamification
title Integrating Augmented Reality and Geolocation for Outdoor Interactive Educational Experiences
title_full Integrating Augmented Reality and Geolocation for Outdoor Interactive Educational Experiences
title_fullStr Integrating Augmented Reality and Geolocation for Outdoor Interactive Educational Experiences
title_full_unstemmed Integrating Augmented Reality and Geolocation for Outdoor Interactive Educational Experiences
title_short Integrating Augmented Reality and Geolocation for Outdoor Interactive Educational Experiences
title_sort integrating augmented reality and geolocation for outdoor interactive educational experiences
topic augmented reality
location-based AR
mobile application
educational AR
mobile learning
gamification
url https://www.mdpi.com/2813-2084/4/2/18
work_keys_str_mv AT christosmourelatos integratingaugmentedrealityandgeolocationforoutdoorinteractiveeducationalexperiences
AT michalisvrigkas integratingaugmentedrealityandgeolocationforoutdoorinteractiveeducationalexperiences