ARstronomy

An inclusive interactive exhibit for astronomy outreach

Try the interactive walkthrough on EkoStudio!

_ A project by giovanni andreotti

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I am a recent graduate from Edinburgh Napier University, with a BSc (Hons) in Digital Media & Interaction DesignExperienced creative in videography, VFX and still photography, I design interactive storytelling projects making use of virtual reality toolsFurther interests in politics, ethics and all technology things
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ARstronomy is a proof of concept for an astronomy outreach exhibit that makes use of accessible features and innovative, interactive technologies: exploiting modern technologies such as Augmented Reality and 3D printing, the aim of the piece is to explore how these modern tools, rarely used in scientific outreach context can be deployed in a real-world scenario, with particular interest to visually impaired users

The project is made of a physical exhibit and an accompanying AR application. A model of Mars is the keystone of both versions, with the interactive spots allowing the user to get more information about some of the red planet's features.The project has multipe goals:

  • Employ scientifically accurate material and appropriate language. Science communication

  • Make use of existing knowledge and materials from similar accessibility focused projects in astronomy

  • Leverage the new opportunities provided by interactive digital tools rarely used in outreach

  • The accompanying prototype digital experience showcases the potential of the AR in this context and how it is possible to blend the physical space and virtual worlds in a meaningful way: it replicates the “touchable” content provided by the physical exhibit while enhancing the experience through innovative means.

Project timeline

2018
Conceptualization at the outreach department of INAF/IRA (National Institute for Astrophysics, Institute for Radio Astronomy of Bologna)

2020
Feeling astronomyA low fidelity mock-up of the envisioned layout. See the slides of the pitch presentation here, you can watch the video and read the report.

2021
AstroSimAn experiment in Epic Games' unreal engine. An early attempt to explore the possibility to develop a completely virtual reality experience. Collection of 3d objects with animated orbit and interaction with text and sound information). This piece sparked the interest into the possibility of using a virtual environment to enhance the exhibit. The process and testing also helped understand the relationship between the user and virtual objects in a virtual space. Watch the video and read the report.

2021
Space explorerExperimentation with Apple's software Reality composer. Used to understand the general suitability of the software in the context of the project, issues, and affordances with regard of the accessibility as well as effectiveness of this technological tool for scientific outreach. The majority of the work for the AR experience was dedicated to adding feature specific content to the same “base layout” of the scene. You can watch the video here. As originally envisioned, it was always important to use appropriate language, concise explanation to deliver accurate scientific content.

2022 ARstronomy
The current iteration of the project, a fully working AR application with a purposefully designed physical board for the exhibitLiterature review: An exploration of multisensory, interactive
learning experiences for
astronomy outreachDevelopment report: Project development report:
ARstronomy: A multi-sensory
interactive experience for astronomy
outreachEvaluation report: Evaluation Report: ARstronomy

This project would not have been possible without the precious help of John Morrison, Fiona Stewart, Stefania Varano, Amelia Ortiz, from the project A touch of the universe and the uCreate Studio

The specially designed board hosts the braille tags and an AdaFruit Playground Express is used to trigger the voice narration
The designed poster was printed onto a sheet of A3 size 210gsm white paper which is glued to the support underneath
The support layer is a thick cardboard which is used to provide support and stability
The braille tags are glued to the poster while cut-outs on the poster expose the conductive traces laid on the cardboard to to the microcontroller

The 3d model was created with the goal of conveying to visually impaired users the same impression of watching Mars through a telescope: visually striking features (visible, darker spots on the surface are usually plains) are exaggerated while many features that’d be notable in an elevation map are “normalized” and discarded (the thousands of small impact craters for example or the more complicated regions of peaks and hills that would be difficult to 3d print and “feel” by hand)Many of the blind-friendly files to 3D print are freely available from the project A touch of the universe. The braille tags, used both on the Mars model and on the board, are based on an existing font that effectively integrates the braille dots with traditional typography. The source files are available here

The AR experience has been developed in the free Apple's software Reality composer, part of a collection of software called ARkit, it allows to create interactive AR experiences without the need of coding, with a modern UI and straightforward process. Although the app still is in beta with plenty of bugs and hiccups that can be detrimental for the development, it is a great and accessible introduction to the making of AR epxeriences