Skip to main content

A Survey on Applications of Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality for Nature and Environment

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality (HCII 2021)

Abstract

Augmented, virtual and mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) are technologies of great potential due to the engaging and enriching experiences they are capable of providing. However, the possibilities that AR/VR/MR offer in the area of environmental applications are not yet widely explored. In this paper we present the outcome of a survey meant to discover and classify existing AR/VR/MR applications that can benefit the environment or increase awareness on environmental issues. We performed an exhaustive search over several online publication access platforms and past proceedings of major conferences in the fields of AR/VR/MR. Identified relevant papers were filtered based on novelty, technical soundness, impact and topic relevance, and classified into different categories. Referring to the selected papers, we discuss how the applications of each category are contributing to environmental protection and awareness. We further analyze these approaches as well as possible future directions in the scope of existing and upcoming AR/VR/MR enabling technologies.

J. Rambach, G. Lilligreen and A. Schäfer—These authors contributed equally to this work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Sensorama simulator (August 28 1962), US Patent 3,050,870

    Google Scholar 

  2. Breakroom. The social hub for remote teams. http://sine.space/breakroom. Accessed 15 July 2020

  3. EcoMOBILE (Ecosystems Mobile Outdoor Blended Immersive Learning Environment). https://pz.harvard.edu/projects/ecomobile. Accessed 15 July 2020

  4. EngageVR: Communicate, Teach, Learn. https://engagevr.io/. Accessed 15 July 2020

  5. Eurostat annual data for tourism (last access 2020–07-15), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/tourism/data/database

  6. Flaim Systems. https://www.flaimsystems.com/. Accessed 15 July 2020

  7. Glue Universal Collaboration Platform. https://glue.work/. Accessed 15 July 2020

  8. Google Arts & Culture Project. https://artsandculture.google.com. Accessed 15 July 2020

  9. Holoroom How To. http://www.lowesinnovationlabs.com/holoroomhowto. Accessed 15 July 2020

  10. Holoroom Test Drive. http://www.lowesinnovationlabs.com/testdrive. Accessed 15 July 2020

  11. Hubs by Mozilla. https://hubs.mozilla.com/. Accessed 15 July 2020

  12. MeetInVR. https://meetinvr.net/. Accessed 15 July 2020

  13. Microsoft Hololens. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens/hardware. Accessed 15 July 2020

  14. Our world in data. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions. Accessed 15 July 2020

  15. Reflekt, https://www.re-flekt.com/reflekt-remote, https://www.re-flekt.com/reflekt-remote. Accessed 15 July 2020

  16. ScopeAR. https://www.scopear.com/solutions/ar-remote-assistance/. Accessed 15 July 2020

  17. VirBELA, The Future of Work. https://www.virbela.com/. Accessed 15 July 2020

  18. Vuforia Chalk. https://chalk.vuforia.com/. Accessed 15 July 2020

  19. WHO Facts. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health. Accessed 15 July 2020

  20. Albers, B., Fuhrmann, B., Temmen, M.: Das PAN Projekt - Umweltmonitoring mit Smartphones und Augmented Reality. AGIT - Journal für Angewandte Geoinformatik 3–2017, July 2017

    Google Scholar 

  21. Alves, C., Luís Reis, J.: The intention to use e-commerce using augmented reality - the case of IKEA place. In: Rocha, Á., Ferrás, C., Montenegro Marin, C.E., Medina García, V.H. (eds.) ICITS 2020. AISC, vol. 1137, pp. 114–123. Springer, Cham (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40690-5_12

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  22. Angrisani, L., Bonavolontà, F., Liccardo, A., Schiano Lo Moriello, R., Serino, F.: Smart power meters in augmented reality environment for electricity consumption awareness. Energies 11(9), 2303 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Bogicevic, V., Seo, S., Kandampully, J.A., Liu, S.Q., Rudd, N.A.: Virtual reality presence as a preamble of tourism experience: the role of mental imagery. Tour. Manage. 74, 55–64 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Bower, M., Howe, C., McCredie, N., Robinson, A., Grover, D.: Augmented reality in education-cases, places and potentials. Educational Media Int. 51(1), 1–15 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Bruguera, M.B., Ilk, V., Ruber, S., Ewald, R.: Use of Virtual Reality for astronaut training in future space missions-Spacecraft piloting for the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G). In: 70th International Astronautical Congress (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Bühling, R., Obaid, M., Hammer, S., André, E.: Mobile augmented reality and adaptive art: a game-based motivation for energy saving. In: International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia. pp. 1–2 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Chauvet, J.M., Deschamps, E.B., Hillaire, C.: Chauvet cave: The discovery of the world’s oldest paintings. Thames and Hudson (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Chen, L., Day, T.W., Tang, W., John, N.W.: Recent developments and future challenges in medical mixed reality. In: IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), pp. 123–135. IEEE (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Chowdhury, S., Schnabel, M.A.: Laypeople’s collaborative immersive virtual reality design discourse in neighborhood design. Front. Robot. AI 6, 97 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Chudikova, B., Faltejsek, M.: Advantages of using virtual reality and building information modelling when assessing suitability of various heat sources, including renewable energy sources. In: IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. vol. 542, p. 012022. IOP Publishing (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Dacko, S.G.: Enabling smart retail settings via mobile augmented reality shopping apps. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang. 124, 243–256 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Deleon, V.J., Berry, H.R.: Virtual Florida everglades. In: International Conference on Virtual System and Multimedia VSSM98- FutureFusion Application Realities for Virtual Age, pp. 46–3 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Drengner, J., König, W., Wiebel, A.: Pervasive mobile Spiele und Virtual Reality als Instrumente der digitalen Ansprache von Veranstaltungsbesuchern: Auf schaz-Suche beim Rheinland-Pfalz-Tag 2018. Eventforschung. MB, pp. 227–245. Springer, Wiesbaden (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27652-2_13

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  34. Engelbrecht, H., Lindeman, R., Hoermann, S.: A SWOT analysis of the field of virtual reality for firefighter training. Front. Robot. AI 6, 101 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Evarts, B., Molis, J.: United States firefighter injuries 2017. National Fire Protection Association (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Fahy, R., LeBlanc, P., Molis, J.: Firefighter fatalities in the United States-2017, Quincy, pp. 1–33. National Fire Protection Association, MA (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Fan, Y., Feng, Z., Mannan, A., Khan, T.U., Shen, C., Saeed, S.: Estimating tree position, diameter at breast height, and tree height in real-time using a mobile phone with RGB-D SLAM. Remote Sens. 10(11), 1845 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Frajberg, D., Fraternali, P., Torres, R.N.: Heterogeneous information integration for mountain augmented reality mobile apps. In: IEEE International Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics (DSAA), pp. 313–322. IEEE (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Fritz, F., Susperregui, A., Linaza, M.T.: Enhancing cultural tourism experiences with augmented reality technologies. In: International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Gallala, A., Hichri, B., Plapper, P.: Survey: the evolution of the usage of augmented reality in Industry 4.0. In: IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 521, p. 012017. IOP Publishing (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Gavish, N., et al.: Evaluating virtual reality and augmented reality training for industrial maintenance and assembly tasks. Interact. Learn. Environ. 23(6), 778–798 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Hampali, S., Rad, M., Oberweger, M., Lepetit, V.: Honnotate: a method for 3D annotation of hand and object poses. In: Proceedings of the IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, pp. 3196–3206 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Hong, S.W., El Antably, A., Kalay, Y.E.: Architectural design creativity in multi-user virtual environment: a comparative analysis between remote collaboration media. Environ. Plann. B: Urban Analyt. City Sci. 46(5), 826–844 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Hsu, T.W., et al.: Design and initial evaluation of a VR based immersive and interactive architectural design discussion system. In: 2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces. IEEE (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Huang, J., Lucash, M.S., Scheller, R.M., Klippel, A.: Visualizing ecological data in virtual reality. In: IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR), pp. 1311–1312. IEEE (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Jensen, L., Konradsen, F.: A review of the use of virtual reality head-mounted displays in education and training. Educ. Inf. Technol. 23(4), 1515–1529 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Jung, K., Nguyen, V.T., Piscarac, D., Yoo, S.C.: Meet the virtual jeju dol harubang-the mixed vr/ar application for cultural immersion in korea’s main heritage. ISPRS Int. J. Geo Inf. 9(6), 367 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Lee, G.A., Teo, T., Kim, S., Billinghurst, M.: Mixed reality collaboration through sharing a live panorama. In: SIGGRAPH Asia Mobile Graphics & Interactive Applications, pp. 1–4. ACM (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Lilligreen, G., Keuchel, S., Wiebel, A.: Augmented reality in higher education: an active learning approach for a course in audiovisual production. In: EuroVR Conference (10 2019)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Liszio, S., Masuch, M.: Designing shared virtual reality gaming experiences in local multi-platform games. In: Wallner, G., Kriglstein, S., Hlavacs, H., Malaka, R., Lugmayr, A., Yang, H.-S. (eds.) ICEC 2016. LNCS, vol. 9926, pp. 235–240. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46100-7_23

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  51. Lu, C.H.: IoT-enhanced and bidirectionally interactive information visualization for context-aware home energy savings. In: IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality-Media, Art, Social Science, Humanities and Design, pp. 15–20. IEEE (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Markowitz, D.M., Laha, R., Perone, B.P., Pea, R.D., Bailenson, J.N.: Immersive virtual reality field trips facilitate learning about climate change. Front. Psychol. 9, 2364 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Masoni, R., et al.: Supporting remote maintenance in industry 4.0 through augmented reality. Procedia Manuf 11, 1296–1302 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. McGinity, M.: Immersive media for environmental awareness. In: IEEE Workshop on Augmented and Virtual Realities for Good (VAR4Good), pp. 1–5. IEEE (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  55. Moiseeva, V., Lavrentyeva, A., Elokhina, A., Moiseev, V.: AR and VR technologies as a factor of developing an accessible urban environment in tourism: institutional limitations and opportunities. Int. J. Eng. Adv. Technol. 8(6), 5313–5317 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Monahan, T., McArdle, G., Bertolotto, M.: Virtual reality for collaborative e-learning. Comput. Educ. 50(4), 1339–1353 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Mylonas, G., Triantafyllis, C., Amaxilatis, D.: An augmented reality prototype for supporting IoT-based educational activities for energy-efficient school buildings. Electron. Not. Theor. Comput. Sci. 343, 89–101 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Nelson, K.M., Anggraini, E., Schlüter, A.: Virtual reality as a tool for environmental conservation and fundraising. PLoS ONE 15(4), e0223631 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  59. Neugebauer, R., Wittstock, V., Meyer, A., Glänzel, J., Pätzold, M., Schumann, M.: VR tools for the development of energy-efficient products. CIRP J. Manuf. Sci. Technol. 4(2), 208–215 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Nim, H.T., et al.: Communicating the effect of human behaviour on the great barrier reef via mixed reality visualisation. In: Big Data Visual Analytics (BDVA), pp. 1–6. IEEE (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  61. Petersen, N., Pagani, A., Stricker, D.: Real-time modeling and tracking manual workflows from first-person vision. In: IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), pp. 117–124. IEEE (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  62. Piumsomboon, T., et al.: Mini-me: an adaptive avatar for mixed reality remote collaboration. In: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1–13 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  63. Qian, K., Bai, J., Yang, X., Pan, J., Zhang, J.: Virtual reality based laparoscopic surgery simulation. In: ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, pp. 69–78 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  64. Ramachandran, G.S., et al.: An immersive visualization of micro-climatic data using USC AiR. In: International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services, pp. 675–676 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  65. Rambach, J., Pagani, A., Schneider, M., Artemenko, O., Stricker, D.: 6DoF object tracking based on 3D scans for augmented reality remote live support. Computers 7(1), 6 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Rambach, J., Pagani, A., Stricker, D.: Augmented things: enhancing AR applications leveraging the internet of things and universal 3d object tracking. In: IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), pp. 103–108. IEEE (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  67. Rico-Bautista, D., et al.: Digital album with augmented reality: Francisco de Paula Santander Ocaña University botanic garden “Jorge Enrique Quintero Arenas”. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 1257, p. 012009. IOP Publishing (2019). https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1257/1/012009

  68. Riegler, A., Riener, A., Holzmann, C.: AutoWSD: virtual reality automated driving simulator for rapid HCI prototyping. In: Mensch und Computer 2019, pp. 853–857. Association for Computing Machinery (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  69. Roczen, N., Kaiser, F.G., Bogner, F.X., Wilson, M.: A competence model for environmental education. Environ. Behav. 46(8), 972–992 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Romão, T., et al.: Augmenting reality with geo-referenced information for environmental management. In: ACM International Symposium on Advances in Geographic Information Systems, pp. 175–180 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  71. Santos, B., Romão, T., Dias, A.E., Centieiro, P., Teixeira, B.: Changing environmental behaviors through smartphone-based augmented experiences. In: Nijholt, A., Romão, T., Reidsma, D. (eds.) ACE 2012. LNCS, vol. 7624, pp. 553–556. Springer, Heidelberg (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34292-9_57

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  72. Schäfer, A., Reis, G., Stricker, D.: Towards collaborative photorealistic VR meeting rooms. In: Mensch und Computer 2019, pp. 599–603. ACM (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  73. Shen, Y., Ong, S., Nee, A.: A framework for multiple-view product representation using Augmented Reality. In: International Conference on Cyberworlds, pp. 157–164. IEEE (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  74. Shen, Y., Ong, S.K., Nee, A.Y.: Collaborative design in 3D space. In: ACM SIGGRAPH International Conference on Virtual-Reality Continuum and Its Applications in Industry, pp. 1–6 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  75. Shen, Y., Ong, S.K., Nee, A.Y.: Product information visualization and augmentation in collaborative design. Comput. Aided Des. 40(9), 963–974 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  76. Shen, Y., Ong, S.K., Nee, A.Y.: Augmented reality for collaborative product design and development. Des. Stud. 31(2), 118–145 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Srisuphab, A., Silapachote, P., Sirilertworakul, N., Utara, Y.: Integrated ZooEduGuide with multimedia and AR from the largest living classrooms to wildlife conservation awareness. In: TENCON IEEE Region 10 Conference, pp. 1–4. IEEE (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  78. Studer, C., Shave, J.: Water in augmented space. In: 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality - Arts, Media, and Humanities, pp. 103–104 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  79. Su, Y., Rambach, J., Minaskan, N., Lesur, P., Pagani, A., Stricker, D.: Deep Multi-state object pose estimation for augmented reality assembly. In: IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) Adjunct, pp. 222–227. IEEE (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  80. Sunlu, U., et al.: Environmental impacts of tourism. Options Méditerranéennes. Série A, Séminaires Méditerranéens 57, 263–270 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  81. Taulien, A., Paulsen, A., Streland, T., Jessen, B., Wittke, S., Teistler, M.: A mixed reality environmental simulation to support learning about maritime habitats: an approach to convey educational knowledge with a novel user experience. In: Mensch und Computer, pp. 921–925. ACM (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  82. Theodorou, P., Kydonakis, P., Botzori, M., Skanavis, C.: Augmented reality proves to be a breakthrough in Environmental Education. In: Protection and Restoration of the Environment XIV (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  83. Torres, N.G., Campbell, P.E.: Aire: visualize air quality. In: ACM SIGGRAPH Appy Hour, pp. 1–2. ACM (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  84. V Masson-Delmotte, E.A.E.: Global warming of 1.5\(^{\circ }\) C. An IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming. Report (2018), https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/

  85. Veas, E., Grasset, R., Ferencik, I., Grünewald, T., Schmalstieg, D.: Mobile augmented reality for environmental monitoring. Pers. Ubiquit. Comput. 17(7), 1515–1531 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  86. Von Itzstein, G., Billinghurst, M., Smith, R., Thomas, B.: Augmented reality entertainment: taking gaming out of the box. In: Lee, N. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_81-1

  87. West, R., Halley, A., O’Neil-Dunne, J., Gordon, D., Pless, R.: Collaborative imaging of urban forest dynamics: augmenting re-photography to visualize changes over time. In: The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality. vol. 8649, p. 86490L. International Society for Optics and Photonics (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  88. West, R., Margolis, T., O’Neil-Dunne, J., Mendelowitz, E.: MetaTree: augmented reality narrative explorations of urban forests. In: The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality, vol. 8289, p. 82890G. Int. Society for Optics and Photonics (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  89. Zenati, N., Hamidia, M., Bellarbi, A., Benbelkacem, S.: E-maintenance for photovoltaic power system in Algeria. In: IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), pp. 2594–2599 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  90. Zillner, J., Mendez, E., Wagner, D.: Augmented reality remote collaboration with dense reconstruction. In: IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct), pp. 38–39. IEEE (2018)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Parts of this work have been performed in the context of project SAARTE (Spatially-Aware Augmented Reality in Teaching and Education). SAARTE is supported by the European Union (EU) in the ERDF program P1-SZ2-7 and by the German federal state Rhineland-Palatinate (Antr.-Nr. 84002945). This work was also supported by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) in the context of ODPfalz under Grant 03IHS075B

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason Rambach .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Rambach, J., Lilligreen, G., Schäfer, A., Bankanal, R., Wiebel, A., Stricker, D. (2021). A Survey on Applications of Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality for Nature and Environment. In: Chen, J.Y.C., Fragomeni, G. (eds) Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality. HCII 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12770. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77599-5_45

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77599-5_45

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-77598-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-77599-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy