Collaborative Research: CIRC: Planning-C: ExpAR: Scalable and Controllable AR Experimentation

ExpAR is envisioned as CISE community research infrastructure that addresses significant challenges in augmented reality (AR) research by enabling more scalable, controllable AR experimentation under real-world conditions. Traditionally, experimentation is limited by the need for diverse technical skills, extensive human effort, and substantial financial investments in specialized hardware. ExpAR will introduce an innovative AR experimentation room designed to facilitate automatic data collection, configurable experimentation, and convenient participant observation via online surveys. Further, ExpAR will abstract AR systems in terms of a generalized pipeline of sensing, understanding, and rendering, allowing researchers to efficiently conduct both component-level and holistic evaluations. During the planning phase funded through this award, the PIs will focus on understanding the community needs and priorities via a range of engagement activities, including formative interviews, local site workshops, and proof-of-concept prototyping and data collection. ExpAR has the potential to advance AR applications by enabling researchers from various disciplines, including arts and visualization, to perform scalable and controllable experimentation without an extensive background in systems, networking, or hardware. This enhanced inclusivity will foster a more diverse research community and accelerate the development of innovative AR solutions. The managing team is committed to supporting the growth of this community by preparing prototype releases, creating tutorials, and providing open datasets for various AR experiments. This effort will enhance current AR applications' capabilities and ensure that future AR technologies are more robust, user-friendly, and accessible. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.