Safe Augmented Reality Interactions for Cultural Heritage Sites

This project will improve the safety of visitors to cultural heritage sites throughout Scotland by examining how Augmented Reality (AR) interaction methods can be created to promote site safety by combining research within the areas of HCI, interface design, and safety related systems. Over 50 million visits are made to Heritage sites throughout the UK each year. Site owners are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of all guests that visit their location. With the introduction of new technologies such as AR to improve the overall visitor experience within these sites, care must be taken to judge when technology may introduce a safety risk to visitors.

This project has the following aims:

1) To understand what the safety challenges are that exist when users are visiting historical sites and if these challenges will be amplified by the introduction of Augmented Reality.

2) To determine if AR interactions can be designed in a way that reduces the overall risk of injury to a user whilst still improving the experience of visiting a heritage site.

This project will use ethnographic techniques combined with user centred software development to develop AR interaction techniques that consider the environment in which applications are being used in order to improve the overall safety associated with using technology within a real-world environment. It is expected that this research project will involve visiting cultural heritage sites carry out research into safety hotspots that exist in order to understand the safety challenges that exist. We will then develop and deploy an Augmented Reality application for a cultural heritage site to determine if AR interactions can be designed in a way to reduce the risk of injury to visitors.

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Our research community thrives on the diversity of students and staff which helps to make the University of Dundee a UK university of choice for postgraduate research. We welcome applications from all talented individuals and are committed to widening access to those who have the ability and potential to benefit from higher education.