Development of VR/AR applications to support geospatial education

Over the last few years immersive technologies have experienced rapid advancement providing several solutions in geospatial education such as improving student preparedness, enhancing student learning of theoretical concepts and practical procedures, and even supporting remote learning. However, several educators cannot utilize such immersive technologies because many of the existing applications are not suitable for geospatial learning. Use of immersive technologies in education often necessitates specialized software and application development with the total investment (in terms of cost and time) becoming a barrier. This project is spearheaded by Working Group V/1 of ISPRS, and it is also supported by the Education and Capacity Building Initiative (ECBI) 2024 grant to provide sample experiences to educators. This project developed two immersive experiences relevant to geospatial education that can be used to enhance lab delivery and learning. The first experience uses a simplified GNSS receiver for topographic mapping in virtual reality (VR). The second experience uses a tablet and an external GNSS receiver to visualize 3D objects in augmented reality (AR). To design these two applications the research team distributed a global questionnaire to professionals and educators. The questionnaire assisted in understanding the participant’s experience with immersive technologies, their attitude and beliefs towards these tools, and the potential benefits that immersive technologies can bring in education and industry. The results from the VR/AR implementation indicate that interactive environments can effectively support student preparation and reveal common misconceptions in topographic data collection, highlighting their value as both training and diagnostic tools in geospatial education.