Integrating an Augmented Reality App Into the Interactive Brochure ...

UNFOLD BEIJING: Integrating an Augmented Reality

App Into the Interactive Brochure To Enhance Travel

Experience In Beijing

Yundi GE

Supervisor: Michal Heichel

MA Interactive Media Practice, University of Westminster

August 2019

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ...................................................................................................... 1 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... 2 KEYWORDS ................................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 3

1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3 1.2 Concept, Aims and Objectives .......................................................................... 4 1.3 Research Questions .......................................................................................... 5 1.4 Contributions ..................................................................................................... 6 1.4.1 Practical contribution ...................................................................................... 6 1.4.2 Academic contribution .................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH .................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Augmented Reality ............................................................................................ 7 2.1.1 Augmented reality application ........................................................................ 8 2.1.2 Augmented reality in the print media industry ................................................ 9 2.1.3 Augmented reality in the tourism industry .................................................... 11 2.1.4 Beijing tourism industry ................................................................................ 13 2.2 Literature Review ............................................................................................. 16

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 4 PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................... 22

4.1 Overall Project Development ........................................................................... 22 4.2 Design Process ............................................................................................... 23 4.2.1 Project identity design .................................................................................. 23 4.2.2 Brochure ....................................................................................................... 25 4.2.3 Application .................................................................................................... 27 4.2.4 AR content .................................................................................................... 28 4.3 Development Process ..................................................................................... 29 4.4 Source of Vsual Content .................................................................................. 30 4.5 Software .......................................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER 5 PROBLEMS AND ANALYSIS ........................................................................ 33 5.1 Problems and Solutions ................................................................................... 33 5.1.1 Photo/Video record, replay and share .......................................................... 33 5.1.2 360-degree video .......................................................................................... 35

5.1.3 Video playing problem .................................................................................. 35 5.2 Learnings ......................................................................................................... 35 5.3 Industry Feedback ........................................................................................... 36 5.4 Testing and Evaluation .................................................................................... 36 5.4.1 User Testing ................................................................................................. 36 5.4.2 Survey Result ............................................................................................... 38

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 39 6.1 Project Context and Review ............................................................................ 39 6.2 Future Work ..................................................................................................... 40 6.2.1 Tourism industry ........................................................................................... 40 6.2.2 Practical improvement .................................................................................. 41 6.3 Summary ......................................................................................................... 41

CHAPTER 7 REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 42 7.1 Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 42 7.2 Online Material an sources .............................................................................. 53

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 55 Appendix 1: Brochure Content Setting .................................................................. 55 Appendix 2: Industry Feedback Evidence ............................................................. 59 Appendix 3: User testing evidence ........................................................................ 60 Appendix 4: User Testing Note .............................................................................. 61 Appendix 5: Interview Survey ................................................................................ 63

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Acknowledgment

Here, I would like to thank my parents for their support of my postgraduate study,

which is the basis of my study and life in a foreign country. In addition, I am also very

grateful to all IMP students and teachers I met in this year, especially my tutor

Michal. With their company and help, my cooperation ability and learning ability have

been greatly improved. In addition, I would like to thank Field, who has been my

biggest supporter during my one-year study and life. During the development of the

project, his network resources greatly helped me complete the field user test. Also

thanks to those users who participated in our user test, as well as Nan ZHANG from

Beijing Qyer company. Your participation makes the testing and feedback of the

project more convincing. Finally, I would like to thank all the others who have helped

me during my postgraduate study and life without mentioning above. Sincerely,

thank you all.

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Abstract

The “Unfold Beijing” project creates a conceptual AR solution for Beijing tourism

industry. With the combination of an interactive brochure and AR scan application,

tourists can enjoy a robust multi-media Beijing tour and get to know more about this

city. The “Unfold Beijing” project is expected to provide the tourists with an

enhancing AR experience when exploring the city.

The AR brochure designed to bring the interactive experience into daily travel use,

while the application focused on integration with multi-media content. Respectively,

the brochure will be presented with useful travel information, attractive design and

professional printing; the application output will utilise rich media forms like 3D

models, animations, sounds, videos, and 360-degree panoramas. The extensive

research will be organised to investigate the feasibility and contribution of this

concept. By user testing and interview survey, the following question will be analysed

and investigated:

1. How to utilize AR application as an effective tool to create engaging travel

experience?

2. What is the advantage of the integration between print media and mobile

augmented reality application?

3. Why is it essential to conduct this project in Beijing?

Keywords: Augmented Reality, Tourism, Print Media, Application Design,

Interactive Technologies

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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction

The innovative technology has continuously changed the way we discover the world

around us. AR, as know as augmented reality, has come into our daily life for years

mainly through mobile devices, and yet, still considered to be one of the most

promising technology trends in 2019(Newman, 2018). According to the research by

Danny Moon in 2018, there are more than 2,000 AR apps in IOS App Store and over

200 apps available on Google Play Store, which means, the popularity of the

augmented reality is still on the rise and in an exponential expansion. By simulating

virtual content over reality in computing devices, AR application has significantly

enhanced user perceptions in an enriched way(UKEssays.com, 2018). With

augmented reality functions, users allowed to immerse themselves into a virtual

digital world without losing their physical contact with the real outside world. As a

connecting link between two worlds, this kind of interactive communication modality

including, but not limited to visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. Therefore, augmented

reality applications have been perceived as an effective tool to improve the

experiencing process for end-users(Mohd, Ismail and Halim, 2015).

The augmented reality application has also been widely applied in various areas

such as video games, interior design, healthcare, education, broadcast and

translation(En.wikipedia.org, 2019). At this staging point, the application of

augmented reality has also revolutionised the publishing industry. With the help of

the augmented design and a mobile device, any form of print material, such as

posters, magazines, postcards and books, can be transformed into an interactive

print with the pre-embedded marker. Zappar, an AR solution company, has

conducted a series of incredible print media AR implementation, including AR poster,

AR leaflet, AR product packing and AR business card(Zappar, 2019). The

combination of augmented reality and print media not only brings interactivity into the

graphic layer but also extends the untouchable AR content to a physical level.

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In addition, the tourism industry has also seized the opportunity to participate in this

emerging technology collaboration. As the tourism industry highly relies on providing

appealing encounters of tourist destinations, innovative technology like augmented

reality can be seen as an alternative chance in exceeding customer expectations

and satisfaction(Shabani, Munir and Hassan, 2019). In this case, augmented reality

solutions are developed to make a positive impact on the tourism industry as well as

generating increasing profit. For example, Florence Guide is a travel application

created by the Etips company in Italy. It allows people to travel to Florence through

the mobile phone along with real-time e-marks and pop-up additional travel

information. It introduced AR technology into the city tour and replaced the paper

map with the camera viewfinder.

Similarly, this trend has also influenced the Chinese tourism industry. Based on a

report by the ChineseAR community, augmented reality has been applied in the

smart tourism system of some tourists attraction(Chinaar.com, 2018). The integration

mainly focused on tour guides, scenic guides, route navigation, interactive games,

social networking, etcetera. As one of the most famous world-class tourism cities,

Beijing is undoubtedly becoming the top one must-visit city for visitors both at home

and abroad. Though the tourism development in Beijing kept growing, the increasing

speed of the inbound tourists started to slow down in recent years(UNWTO-WTCF

City Tourism Performance Research Beijing Case Study, 2018). To cope with this

situation, measures have been taken to boost tourism. One of the instructions

suggested by Beijing Tourism Commission is leveraging innovative digital media and

curating creative cultural products. (UNWTO-WTCF City Tourism Performance

Research Beijing Case Study, 2018)

1.2 Concept, Aims and Objectives

Concerning the factors above, the “Unfold Beijing” project was proposed to create a

conceptual AR solution(including AR scan application and interactive print brochure)

for Beijing tourism industry as a possible way to enhance the travel experience in

Beijing. With this AR solution system, tourists are expected to enjoy a robust multi-

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media Beijing tour as well as get to know more about the extraordinary city, Beijing.

To be specific, they can read essential experience introductions, acquire lively city

perception, navigate through most-famous attractions, share travel experiences by

postcards and create their own travel moments with photos and videos.

To that end, this project aims to define the ability of travel experience enhancement

through the whole AR solution system and also explore an interactive way to explore

a new city. If possible, it could be referenced by other tourists city like Beijing, to

create their customised AR travel solution system based on their own needs. To

achieve this goal, the cooperation between the printed brochure and AR scan

application prototype is essential. The brochure design mainly emphasised on how

to bring the interactive experience into daily travel use, while the application mainly

stressed the integration with multimedia content. Respectively, the brochure will be

presented with origin writing content, attractive design and professional printing; the

application output will utilize rich media forms like 3D models, gifs, animations,

sounds, videos, and 360-degree panoramas.

1.3 Research Questions

The combination of augmented reality and travel brochure in the tourism industry will

be further researched, analysed and conducted in the following chapters. In order to

best investigate how is this project going to enhance the travel experience of tourists

in Beijing, the following research questions are put forward :

1. How to utilize the AR application as an effective tool to create an engaging

travel experience?

2. What is the advantage of the integration between print media and mobile

augmented reality application?

3. Why is it essential to conduct this project in Beijing?

So as to address the above questions, the rest of the chapters are organised as

follows. Chapter 2 will provide thorough research evidence and conduct a literature

review. After confirming the research questions, the methodology will be stated in

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Chapter 3. Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 will demonstrate the practical development

process and the testing and evaluation section. Conclusions and future work are

discussed in Chapter 7.

1.4 Contributions

1.4.1 Practical contribution

From the following research and study, we can understand the application of AR

technology in the tourism industry and the print media industry. From this, we can

get inspiration from the combination of the three, to form a complete AR solution for

the urban tourism experience. Therefore, it can publicise the city image, improve city

perception, and increase satisfaction. Finally, achieve the purpose of promoting city

tourism development. Besides, the practical development process of the interactive

brochure and AR application will help us understand how the design and

development of the project can help visitors get the features and smooth interactive

experience they like. Finally, user testing largely ensures the actual availability and

feasibility of the project and ensures that we can meet research goals.

1.4.2 Academic contribution

Current studies about AR implementations are mainly focused on one of the two

factors, either tourism or print media. Therefore, we can only gain reliable literature

resources separately instead of a comprehensive study. To fulfil the gap of the AR

solution system in city tourism, this paper will contribute to discover possible AR city

tourism solutions theoretically and practically. Moreover, this project is mainly

targeted for the Beijing tourism industry, where few studies from the public can be

acquired. It is believed that the rest of the dissertation can be used for reference to

further Beijing AR tourism research.

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Chapter 2 Research

2.1 Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) is a reality-based interactive display environment that uses

computer-generated display, sound, text, and other virtual effects to enhance the

user’s real-life experience. This word was first used in 1990 by former Boeing

researcher Tom Caudell. With the development of the research, there are currently

two general definitions of augmented reality. One was proposed by Ronald Azuma, a

professor at the University of North Carolina in 1997. He believes that augmented

reality includes three aspects: the combination of virtual objects and reality, instant

interaction, and registered in three-dimensional effect. The other definition is the

Milgram’s Reality-Virtuality Continuum(Figure 1) proposed by Paul Milgram and

Fumio Kishino in 1994(En.wikipedia.org, 2019). They regard the real environment

and the virtual environment as the two ends of a continuous system, and the middle

part of the two ends is called “Mixed Reality”. The side close to the real environment

is augmented reality, and the side close to the virtual environment is the virtual

environment.

Figure1: Milgram’s Reality-Virtuality Continuum (source: Wikipedia)

It is generally believed that the emergence of AR technology stems from the

development of Virtual Reality (VR), but apparently, they are not precisely the same.

Traditional VR technology gives users the effect of being completely immersed in the

virtual world, with the new-created world; while AR technology brings computing

content into the real world for users, enhancing them by listening, watching,

touching, and adopting virtual information. The perception of the real world has

transformed from “user adapt to the technology” to “user-oriented technology”.

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2.1.1 Augmented reality application

Although augmented reality has existed for many years, until mainstream

smartphones are equipped with GPS, cameras and augmented reality, augmented

reality start known by the public(Perdue, 2019). MARA, in short of “The Mobile

Augmented Reality Application” is a mobile device solution that combines and

complements the built-in components of mobile phones and provides specialized

applications to deliver reality-based services and features(Schmeil and Broll, 2017).

This solution designed to provide mobile phone users with a rich set of services,

applications and features that are applied to physical reality. These apps use the

phone camera, GPS, touch screen components and other sensory and motion

detectors to integrate real images, videos or scenes.

As the increasing power of portable electronic products, the use of augmented reality

is becoming more widespread, especially for augmented reality mobile applications.

After the launch of mobile AR game PokemonGo(Figure 2) in 2016, it has completely

subverted both the game industry and the AR industry.

Figure 2: Pokemon Go AR game(source: pokemon.com)

Since its release in July 2016, the game peaked at nearly 45 million users in August

2016, which is considered to be a milestone that AR could be adopted by the mass

audience(Javornik, 2016). Thereby, AR made a significant impact in areas other than

entertainment, such as marketing, fashion, travel and retail, where the number and

popularity of commercial AR applications have increased.

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2.1.2 Augmented reality in the print media industry

Trending technology has had an exceptional influence on how we consume and

deliver media content in the past ten years. With the booming of digital publications

and the depression of paper business, competing for new media content has

become the common choice of traditional media company. In May 2012, AR agency

Blippar and the Guardian newspaper jointly launched the “World’s First Augmented

Reality Newspaper” in Dublin(Figure 3).

Figure 3: The Guardian AR newspaper(source: econsultancy.com)

Readers can use the Blippar software to read the AR “Editor’s Choice” section and

interact with advertising content(Heim, 2012). Likewise, according to the report by

US authoritative media “Advertising Age”, “New York Times” decided to put a bet on

VR and AR, hoping to continue its leading position of the media industry through the

digital transformation(Greiff, 2015).

In recent years, augmented reality has truly created opportunities for the traditional

print media industry. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Pokemon Go founder Niantic John

Hank believe that AR has more chances than VR for the publishing

industry(Charlton, 2017). Indeed, some print media company and AR startups have

already teamed up to bring a new way of expressing printed content for years. For

example, ELLE, one of the world’s largest fashion magazines, announced its

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partnership with HuffPost RYTO to create an AR experience for the November

“Hollywood Women’s Collection” in 2016(Prnewswire.com, 2016). With ELLE NOW

application, readers only need to put the mobile device on the cover of any female

character and the covers will come alive(Figure 4).

Figure 4: ELLE AR magazine - ‘Women In Hollywood’ November Issue in

2016(source: prnewswire.com)

Readers can enjoy the exclusive interview videos of the Hollywood star. Robbie

Myers, the chief editor of ELLE, stated that the influence of technology penetration

into fashion media is an absolute charming and AR technology is a new way to

further reveal the image for readers.

As can be seen, the AR interaction between reality and virtual has made the form of

paper media more diversified and more immersive, allowing readers to embrace

differentiated interactive movement while reading. Marshall McLuhan believes that

the media is an extension of man(McLuhan, 2001). We are now in an era of

retribalization, where the divided senses are reintegrated and extended. With a

camera and display port, augmented reality technology can make various 3D

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models, videos, audios, annotations on paper. By using sounds, gestures, touch, etc.

to manipulate virtual objects, people’s senses are extended at the same time and

experience a perfect physical-and-mental enjoyment.

On the other hand, for media organizations, AR has undoubtedly put forward higher

requirements for media workers. Download the app, scan the content with the AR

marker, and present the corresponding video. This is the most common application

solution of “Media + AR”. Few obstacles also arose from this. If users only allowed to

use a specific APP when scanning, they will be subject to certain limitations. If AR

function can be connected to any social media platform, the operation will be more

convenient, and the communication effect will be better. What's more, the Internet

itself also imposes constraints on AR. AR experience sometimes is subject to the

user’s network and smartphones. In places where the network is poor, users may

experience delays and bad experiences. So for the average user, quality content and

experience are the keys to maintaining user loyalty in the printed AR project.

2.1.3 Augmented reality in the tourism industry

Augmented reality industry is evolving at a fast pace. Experts predict that the

augmented reality market will reach more than $25 billion by 2025, and growth will

continue to grow steadily(Makarov, 2019). The following business areas show major

potential in generating increasing profit with AR(Figure 5).

Figure 5: Expected revenue in AR industries by 2025

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Regardless that the tourism industry is not on the list above, tourism has also shown

a significant shift through augmented reality. Unlike other industries, tourism is a

highly research-based industry. Tourists will act only if they conduct research about

attractions, accommodations, shopping and food. The statistic given by Opera

Mediaworks shows that about 85% of travellers prefer to use mobile devices as a

booking tool(Shaul, 2016). Therefore, the mobile device is the perfect platform for

AR marketers to create new values. As to say, the travel industry took great

advantage of augmented reality development since anyone with a smartphone can

use augmented reality technology. Tom Hall, the Lonely Planet travel editor,

predicted that augmented reality could help travel in both practical and inspirational

ways(Sung, 2011). Indeed, with AR augmented reality technology and high-speed

Internet connection, now visitors can conduct navigation, positioning, information

browsing, travel planning, online booking, etcetera. Through the existing reality of

layered digital information, AR is easing planning trips and enhancing the travel

experience for visitors.

Although the industry has not fully utilized AR, some innovative mobile applications

have already made progress in enhancing the travel experience. Wallit, an AR

message board application, can mark the hottest spots in each city and set up a

virtual “Message Wall” (Filippetti, 2012). When people enter into a popular travel

area, users can leave a message on the message wall as well as social with other

tourists on “Wall”. AR app Junaio is an AR navigation app designed by Tokyo

Sunshine Aquarium in Japan. Since the aquarium is distant from the subway and the

interference billboards on the streets, visitors always getting lost on their way. With

Junaio, the AR penguin turns into the GPS and adds joy to the walk(Figure 6).

Figure 6: Junaio – an AR penguin navigation app(source:Soranews24.com)

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One month after the launch of the AR app, the cute little penguin brought 152% of

the visitors to the aquarium. For the user, this is not only an interesting experience

but also deepens the impression of the aquarium and enhances the brand’s

image(Clegg, 2014). In China, some tourist attraction has also created their AR

experience. Baidu, a popular search engine company in China, has launched its own

AR WeChat mini-program for the Changlong Wildlife Park in

Guangzhou(Chinaar.com, 2018). The mini-program displays virtual animals on the

smartphone screen and imposes them in the real environment that visitors are

currently seeing(Figure 7).

Figure 7: Changlong AR zoo mini-programme(Source: prnasia.com)

The mini-program is designed to facilitate digital interaction and provide visitors with

information about the animals they see and guide them around the park. The similar

AR try-out is adopted by Wudang Mountain Tourism Commission. They cooperated

with the leading AR solution expert Magic Real Technology to customize AR

advertisements for attraction tickets to promote the rich tourism resources of

Wudang area. Overall, the application of AR in the tourism industry is not limited to

the above scenarios. Further exploration of tourism may bring more opportunities.

2.1.4 Beijing tourism industry

Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China, and one of the four

municipalities city. It is one of the four ancient capitals and China’s five core cities.

Beijing is China’s political and cultural centre, as well as an international exchange

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and centre for science, technology and innovation. More importantly, Beijing is rich in

tourism resources(Figure 8).

Figure 8: Key tourism resources of Beijing

With seven UNESCO heritage sites, Beijing is the world’s largest city with the largest

number of World Heritage sites. In recent years, Beijing has intensively explored

cultural connotations and launched a variety of historical and cultural and modern

cultural experience tourism products, which are very popular among tourists. The

integration of Beijing’s tourism and cultural industries is also deepening. The cultural

re-emergence of the seven world heritages, the characteristic experience of Beijing’s

traditional folk customs, cultural creativity and the development of performing arts

have brought new growth points to Beijing’s tourism industry.

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Acording to the statistic by Beijing Tourism commission, Beijing tourism industry has

maintained its vigour in past years. The number of tourists and tourism revenues

grew steadily, ranking first in all cities of China. In 2018, Beijing’s total tourism

revenue reached 592.12 billion yuan, reaching an increase of 8.3% from 2017, and

the total number of tourists received reached 31.093 million(Tripvivid.com, 2019).

However, public statistics show that since 2014, the growth rate of annual tourist

arrivals (domestic and abroad tourists) in Beijing has been no more than 5%, and is

in a state of low growth. Compared with other cities, the growth rate of tourism in

Beijing had slowed down noticeably. Statistics from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of

Culture and Tourism showed that the income growth of Beijing tourist attractions in

2018 was the lowest in the past decade, only 4.9%, and fell below 5% for the first

time(Figure 9).

Figure 9: Income growth of Beijing tourist attractions in 2009-2018(source: Beijing

Culture and Tourism Bureau)

Among the tourist users of tourism products in Beijing, tourists accounted for the

largest proportion, followed by business travellers. As an international city and a

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cultural exchange city between China and other foreign countries, cultural

communicators also occupy a considerable proportion. The emergence of various

new technologies and media platforms has provided new opportunities for the future

development of Beijing’s tourism industry by improving the quality of tourism

resources and enhancing the tourist experience. The data shows that 15.8% of

Beijing’s tourism consumer users are millennials(Tripvivid.com, 2019). Therefore, it

is essential to develop product innovation and marketing innovation for the new

generation of consumers.

2.2 Literature Review

This section will introduce the latest research results related to the AR project,

including the development potential of AR itself, the exploration of the combination of

AR and paper media, and the application of AR in tourism and the enhancement of

tourism experience. Due to the booming of the AR industry in the past decade, more

scholars and experts began to explore various topics related to AR. Most of the

research results discussed in this section are based on journals, articles, conference

proceedings, reports, and books from 2010 to 2019.

About the AR technology itself, it can be seen as a technology evolvement as well as

an art form in the media ecology. Some authors mainly focus on the technology side.

Gregory and Rampolla(2013) outlined and discussed unprecedented information

about augmented reality and its capabilities. Schmeil and Broll(2017) proposed the

concept of MARA, which introduced AR as a mobile application based technology

that would enjoy user acceptance. Also, Augmented Reality

Applications(UKEssays.com, 2018) pointed out that AR is a powerful technology that

will bring unprecedented advantages to early adopters. While others are mainly

focused on its media expression. Understand Augmented Reality(B.Craig., 2013)

introduced the concept of augmented reality (AR) and defined the meaning of

augmented reality as a medium, instead of technology. And Gould(2014) stated that

AR is defined as a cultural form of expression by its visual performing.

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Therefore, augmented reality is considered to be an emerging technology that

provided opportunities for industries, especially in creating the immersive experience

from users’ perception. Scholz and Smith(2016) described that augmented reality

made a unique contribution to maximizing engagement by integrating marketing

program. Another research by Chung et al. (2017) investigated the factors that affect

AR consumer satisfaction by using information system (IS) persistence, balance

theory, and post-acceptance model of rational behaviour theory (TRA). The results

showed that the perceived superiority and aesthetics of AR affect AR satisfaction in

the experience environment. In addition, Stockinger(2015) used network monitoring

to elicit consumers’ perceptions and attitudes toward AR, which demonstrated a wide

range of positive and negative perceptions that indicate consumer attitudes and

barriers. Among all, the combination of AR and tourism has truly revolutionized our

imagination. The study of İLHAN and ÇELTEK(2016) aimed to determine the

potential of AR applications within the tourism industry and identify the positive

attitudes towards AR promoting. Shabani, Munir and Hassan(2019) stated that AR is

a thriving and innovative technology that helps marketers in the hospitality and

tourism industries improve service quality and create value for consumers. At the

same time, the following articles have led the research of AR usage to the real sites.

User experience model for augmented reality applications in urban heritage tourism

(Han, tom Dieck and Jung, 2017) explored a comprehensive set of factors that

influence the travel experience of heritage destinations, which offer instructions for

industry practitioners in AR implementation. Another AR implemented investigation

for Czech Volcanic Geoheritage by Rapprich et al. in 2016 showed that the

advantage of the augmented reality solution allows users to be immersed in the

experience of geological reconstruction. More importantly, a review from Mohd,

Ismail and Halim(2015) declared that mobile augmented reality is an effective tool in

improving tourists experience at urban tourists attractions.

In the following, the brief review is given about AR print. Perey(2011), Siltanen et al.

(2017), Rocco, Werth and Loos(2014) has conducted the integration research of AR

and print media. Though readability and usability issues challenges exist, the AR will

continue contributing to the print media with its special characteristics. Few studies

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have also extended the investigation of the AR print to specific print areas. AR

Postcard: The Augmented Reality System with a Postcard(Hyunwoo et al., 2011)

created the AR postcard system to promote emotional experience for users.

Augmented media for traditional magazines(Vinh-Tiep et al., 2012) companioned AR

with traditional magazines.The New Dimension in a Calendar: The Use of Different

Senses and Augmented Reality (Olalde and Guesalaga, 2013) introduced the AR to

the calendar, which coupling the daily calendar with AR content to create new

possibilities for ordinary print.

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Chapter 3 Methodology

This chapter will demonstrate the methodology used in the research process and

practical development process of “Unfold Beijing'' augmented reality project.

As regards this multi-tasks linear project, it planned to be carried out with a

designated goal and a limited timeline which is the reason of adapting ''Waterfall

Model'' in this project. The main reason for adapting Waterfall methodology is that

this is an individual project with precise requirements and stable tasks. In addition to

this, the compact timeline and limited development scope are also accountable for

choosing this model.

The ''Waterfall Model'' was first cited formally by Winston W. Royce in 1970 as a

flawed model(En.wikipedia.org, 2019). With years of testing and refinement, this

model has been improved with some reflective process and documentation

requirements as a mature development method. In Winston's model, the

development process has been divided into six sequential phases with following

fixed order(Figure 10): requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment

and maintenance(Lucidchart Content Team, 2017).

Figure 10: Waterfall Model diagram(source: lucidchart.com)

Compared to other development methods, waterfall methodology is suitable for the

development in this particular project for several reasons. First, due to the

simultaneous multi-platform development work, all tasks should be well-structured

and prior-prepared at the start phase, such as targeted images and application

functions. Without completing tasks in the previous stage, the work cannot be

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progressed smoothly in the next step(Bassil, 2012). Take this project as an example;

if the brochure and application design requirement has not been documented in

advance, the augmented reality function development can be repetitive and

inefficient. Some may argue that this process may lack rapid feedback and flexible

changes. While in this project, changes are predictable, and it has a rather short

workflow which enables adequate refinements in the following stages. Namely, this

project mainly focused on fixed goals and measurable progress. Each phase

becomes a connecting link between the preceding and the following, which requires

to be taken step by step.

The initial stage is ''requirement gathering and analysis''. Three detailed requirement

documents were created targeted for the brochure, the application and the

augmented reality content, respectively. With abundant research and analysis in

similar products, each document was defined with specific needs and functions.

Evident logic and understandable technology usage were established to elaborate

on the product vision. The brochure content and application functions and

augmented visual materials were determined in parallel in this stage.

The next stage is ''design''. The outlines for the project from the upper stage will be

proceeding in the design stage. From software, applicable system and building

architecture to user interfaces and user experiences, the final output of the design

stage will state the project from the technical angle(Oxagile, 2014). The design

process will be described in detail in Chapter 5.

As for the implementation stage, the visual design will be integrated with coding to

functionalize prototype. Developers will set out to execute the tasks with initial

requirements.

As long as entering the testing stage, the mission is to report issues and resolve

problems. Other than addressing the problems like application bugs, printing errors

and design flaw, testers also required to guarantee that all the final deliverables are

specified as needed(Powell-Morse, 2016). In the modified waterfall model, feedback

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could lead back from the testing stage to upper stages like design, coding or even

the requirement stage. The development cycle will continue until all bugs and errors

are revealed and fixed. In this project, user testing and interviewed-surveys applied

to locate problems that occurred in the brochure and application. All the problems

are recorded as testing results after every usability testing. The iterative

development process consistently going on until the test fails to uncover new issues.

The user testing note and problem report of user testing can be found in Chapter 7.

The final stages of the development cycle are the deployment stage and

maintenance stage. The product is ready to be released into a live environment with

persistent support and maintenance. In other words, the product has to be up to date

as well as the proper functionality. The cycle of repeatedly analysis and requirement

gathering is possibly required in future maintenance.

In general, this whole project works appropriately with the waterfall model. The

project is well-organized in every section, in spite of the design or development, with

clear deliverables and forward-looking plans(Lvivity, 2018). Whereas, this model still

has some fallbacks in practical operating. The project ignores user feedback in mid-

term development, such as the lack of scan hints, which may cause delayed

refinement in brochure printing and risky deployment.

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Chapter 4 Practical Development

4.1 Overall Project Development

At the start phase, it is crucial to formulate the ideas and have a basic concept for

the whole project. As for the “UNFOLD BEIJING” project, the idea is to enhance the

travel experience for foreign tourists in Beijing by creating an interactive AR

(augmented reality) brochure. Since it is a combination of print media and the

augmented technology, the “UNFOLD BEIJING” project can be divided into two

parts: the “Unfold Beijing” brochure and the “Unfold Beijing” augmented reality scan

application. The brochure can be more than just a travel guide after applied with the

trending AR technology and tearable postcards.

According to the theory by Soroka(2013), the first step for a new project is to define a

clear goal. As for this project, each part has been assigned with its own goal: the

brochure should be interactive, informative and implemented with recognizable

image markers; the application should be able to reveal the augmented reality

overlays and provide the users with an immersive experience, as well as make it

shareable.

Following the goal, the project enters the sketching stage. By sketching the user

interface and allocating the main features, the structure of the application becomes

clear(Gazdecki, 2016). As for the brochure, the content layout and interactive design

are more visualized through the sketching process.

The next step is to conduct research, both for the brochure and the application. The

research should include multiple aspects, such as selling point, target audiences,

competitors, industry backgrounds, market segments etc. (Blair, 2019). Without

carrying out the research above, targeted development will not be conducted

smoothly. For example, research if someone has already done something similar or

it is entirely revolutionary will ensure the project is both innovative and practical in

conducting at the same time. Collecting design inspirations for brochure layout and

application interface could lay a solid foundation in the following design process. As

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for the application, thorough research on technical requirements, building information

and standard development procedure save time from pursuing unrealistic features or

making detours.

After collecting all the useful information, the project comes to the prototyping stage.

Gazdecki(2016) suggests that by creating mock-up wireframes and

storyboards(including user navigation flows, Lo Fi-UI,etc.), you may get a better

overview of the layout and functionality of the application. Before the project goes to

the official development stage, check and reflect the backend structure is also a

significant link in the whole process. It is helpful for later development.

Then, it is the final testing stage. Great user experience can satisfy the users by

fulfilling their needs, while a user testing can ensure the application will meet users’

expectations and lead the product to a right path(Čengija, n.d.). Usability issues may

occur, then reflections and refinements will be made after testing. In this way, the

application will be continuously refined through iterative development (Williams, Yao

and Nurse, 2017), which can maximize the success of the product(Quovantis, 2017).

4.2 Design Process

4.2.1 Project identity design

Red means lotus in Chinese culture, and you can see the colour red in almost every

corner in Beijing. So I chose red to be the main colour of this project. Beijing is an

amazing city where traditional meets modern, so three different shades of red

represents three different features - traditional, modern and dynamic. Other

compatible colours were generated by Coolors(Coolors, 2018) colour generator to

match the basic design needs of the project(Figure 11).

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Figure 11: Project colour scheme

The inspiration for the logo came from the name of this project. According to the

dictionary definition(Wordnetweb.princeton.edu, 2019), “unfold” means open to the

view, or open something from a folded state. Therefore, I drafted different kinds of

shapes and tried several icon combinations that may best reveal the word “unfold”.

Figure 12: Project logo samples

At last, sample 06 outweighed others by its simple shape and clear explanation. It

included all the required elements of this project: Augmented reality scan function,

revealing brochure pages and the city Beijing.

Figure 13: ‘‘Unfold Beijing’’ Logo idea

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In all, the project design was divided into three sections: the brochure, the

application and the Augmented Reality overlay content. Every section will strictly

follow the visual consistency principle to improve the consistent user experience and

build a strong brand identity(Minhas, 2018).

4.2.2 Brochure

The priority aim of the brochure is to be interactive. Except for the interaction in the

virtual environment, the brochure should also be interactable and shareable in the

real environment. Thus, I drafted the layout of the brochure(Figure 14) and tried to

realize these functions in three ways.

Figure 14: Brochure layout drafts

The first one is the cut-out brochure cover. A well-designed cover can impress the

readers right away with an exciting reading compulsion(Thomas, n.d.). And a cut-out

cover can add more layers and excite readers to explore more about the book. For

my brochure, a semicircle cut-out cover(Figure 15) helps readers focus more on the

Beijing skyline image and increase the fun of reading.

Figure 15: Cut-out brochure cover

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The other interactive design is tearable postcards. Although digital messages have

been widely used for decades, people still love sending postcards to fulfil their

emotional needs, especially for travellers. To distinguish this brochure from other

regular postcards or handbooks, I add tearing lines in every experience page to

separate the images from the introduction as well as the DIY content area on the

reverse side(Figure 16).

Figure 16: Front side(left) and back side(right) of the postcard

Besides, taking a photo of someone holding a well-designed postcard in front of

iconic attractions is a trendy style of Instagram posting. Therefore, our postcards are

able to be more than just a traditional postcard, but also a shareable content on

social media platforms. In this case, our brochure goes beyond an informative travel

guide or a postcard collection. It is a powerful marketing tool with a combination of

both.

Introduction contents are as significant as visual contents for a city publicity

brochure. By way of reading through the book ‘‘Lonely Planet: Beijing Pocket ’’

curated by David Eimer(2016), I learned how to introduce Beijing from a foreigner’s

insight and ensured the professionalism and readability for my brochure. Based on

this book, I concluded ten essential experiences for tourists in Beijing, following with

a “Top 5” recommendation list. The 10 themes are “Ancient Temples”, “The Imperial

Splendor”, “Serene Parks”, “Modern Architecture”, “The Local Market Vibe”, “The

Historic Hutong”, “The Art Neighborhood”, “The Great Wall”, “A Foodie Heaven” and

“The Beijing Style”.(see Appendix 1 for full version of content setting)

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Apart from the above, some user-oriented design details can be found throughout

the whole brochure design.

● The binding style of the brochure is saddle stitch, which enables our users to

lay flat without pressing it during the AR scanning process.

● Before entering 10 AR content pages, there is an instruction page. By reading

this page, users will learn about this project and take action step by step.

Also, the instruction page and the back cover also provides the QR code for

users to download the AR scan application (I use app icon instead of the QR

code since it has not been uploaded to the App Store in current stage).

● Every image caption is written in both Chinese and English. For those

travellers who may intend to visit these spots, it can be useful for them to ask

ways from locals.

● In order to best implement the user-centred design principle throughout the

brochure, every AR image has a scan hint caption beside. These hints can

help our users learn about the virtual contents in advance.

4.2.3 Application

The positioning of this application is an augmented reality scan tool that served for

the brochure. After setting the scope of the application, I created a mood board on

Pinterest(Pinterest, 2019) as inspiration collections for this application. After that, I

create the user flow(Figure 17) and low-fidelity mock-ups(Figure 18) for immediate

refinement.

Figure 17: Application user flow

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Figure 18: Low-fidelity mock-ups

With some simple user testing and rapid adjustment, the project entered the

prototype stage. In this stage, the user interfaces have been polished with high-

fidelity images and icons(Figure 19). Also, the design still continued the style and

colour schemes of the brochure along with all the animated interactive buttons

imported in Principle prototype(Figure 20).

Figure 19: Hi-fi prototypes Figure 20: Principle interactive

4.2.4 AR content

Another design highlight is a fusion of Augmented reality function and print media. I

choose ten representative images for ten essential Beijing experiences. These

images are also utilized as physical triggers to activate the augmented virtual

contents. I use various types of content to improve the visual experiences for our

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users, such as 3D models, 360-degree footage, videos, animated images, audios

and links.

4.3 Development Process

There are several development platforms that currently enable augmented reality

features. Android, IOS and Unity are the most common development tools in the

current stage. Compared with Unity, Android and IOS development are too hard for

beginners, while Unity is the only platform that enables cross-platform development,

and the development process is relatively user-friendly. In this case, Unity is my final

choice.

Meanwhile, this application should complete the following tasks during the

development process:

● Required for function access permission (Camera, microphone, photo album

and notification)

● Add an initial instruction overlay before the main scan page revealed

● Trigger the camera(flip camera) on the mobile device

● Augmented reality image recognition (Card recognition)

● Be able to take pictures/record video while identifying the card

● Photos and videos can be saved to local album

● Photos and Videos can be shared to social networks

Firstly, I construct all the fundamental call-to-action features, such as page

redirections, hidden menu, permission requirement and camera access.

Nevertheless, due to the limitation of the open-source in IOS system, few functions

cannot be achieved. Thus, alternative ways have been applied to solve these

problems, which I will be demonstrated in the next chapter.

As for the augmented reality part, the development process of the AR project is

divided into stages to complete the tasks above, according to Linowes and

Babilinski(2017):

● Stage 1: Creating a new Unity AR 3D project

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● Stage 2: Inserting the user interface in new scenes with interactive buttons

● Stage 3: Adding a Vuforia AR camera to the scene with all the image targets

prepared

● Stage 4: Creating the target database and importing it into Unity

● Stage 5: Adding virtual objects into the Hierarchy and adjusting the object

scale

● Stage 6: Building and Running

4.4 Source of Vsual Content

This project contains numbers of visual contents, including a large amount of

complicated 3D models, videos and images. The final deliverables for this project are

all curated by myself; however, some of the visual contents required highly skilled

professionals, which I am not able to reach in the current stage. Thus, some original

works have been retouched, recreated and modified based on licensed sources. All

sources will be specified in the “online material sources” section for reference.

4.5 Software

● Adobe Lightroom Classic CC (Adobe, 2019)

Adobe Lightroom is the most convenient tool for photographers to retouch raw

photos. Nine original photos for 9 Beijing experiences are retouched by this

tool.

● Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 (Adobe, 2019)

Adobe Photoshop is the most powerful tool for designers and photographers

to make magical visual effects for various kinds of images. All the brochure

interface design and printing layout were conducted by Photoshop.

● Adobe Illustrator CC 2019 (Adobe, 2019)

Some specific icons in SVG format can be easily reallocated or resigned in

Adobe Illustrator, which provides great space for creations. The scan

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reminder icon (a hand holding a mobile device) and the application icon are

designed by Illustrator.

● Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2019 (Adobe, 2019)

Premiere Pro is the leading video editing software that commonly applied in

the media industry. It leverages strong video editing architectures to fulfil

innovative ideas of the video makers, such as stabilization, masking and

caption adding. The video ‘‘Peking duck’’, ‘‘Chinese Calligraphy’’ and ‘‘Best

Walks in Beijing’’ are edited in PR.

● Coolors.Co Colour Generator (Coolors, 2018)

Coolors is a website-based colour generator that provides professional colour

schemes through colour permutation and combination. People can either find

a random existed colour palette or create original colours scheme based on

your need. The ‘‘Unfold Beijing’’ colour scheme is generated by Coolors

based on three different shades of red.

● Assembly (Pixite LLC, 2019)

Graphic design applications for designers to create simple icons or logos. It

removes the barrier between elegant design and simple snaps. With a vast

shape library, people can achieve a professional output in a few minutes. The

logo prototype of ‘‘Unfold Beijing’’ project is designed by Assembly.

● PLOTAVERSE (PLOTAGRAPH, Inc, 2019)

PLOTAVERSE is an image animation application that is only available on

mobile devices. This application aims to provide professional motion

animations in an easy way. After setting anchors and masks, creators can

bring a dull and still image to life. The flowing water and the rolling cloud of

Beihai Park gif are made by PLOTAVERSE.

● Wacom (Wacom Co., Ltd., 2019)

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Wacom Pen Tablets offers professional solutions for digital painting. In this

project, the accurate pen is required in order to transfer a regular photo into a

watercolour effect painting.

● Overflow 0.11.1-rc (Protoio Inc., 2019)

Overflow is a smart design tool that can create storyboards in a very short

time. Also, the Overflow plug-in in Sketch provided a seamless design

experience.

● Sketch 53.2 (Bohemian BV, 2019)

With its power sketching and collaboration function, it has become an

industry-standard tool for the application prototype design.

● Principle 5.3 (Hooper Software LLC, 2019)

Principle is a popular choice for application designers to create their

interactive application prototype without any coding process. It visualises the

motion effect requirements and simplifies the animation process.

● Unity 2018.2.1 (Unity Technologies Inc., 2018)

Unity is a cross-platform augmented reality application development tool.

Also, Vuforia Unity package enables developers to build an augmented reality

project in a short time.

● Unity Hub 2.0.3 (Unity Technologies Inc., 2019)

To develop an Augmented Reality application, Unity Hub is the best place to

install supportive plug-ins, such as Vuforia SDK and IOS pack.

● Visual Studio 7.6.8.38 (Microsoft, 2019)

A coding tool for developers in writing code or debugs.

● Xcode 10.3 (Apple Inc., 2019)

An Essential tool and platform for IOS developers.

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● Trello 2.10.14 (Trello Inc., 2019)

Trello is a useful tool for designers to organise multi-task missions. In this

project, Trello helps a lot in moving forwards works in different sections.

● SketchUp 2019 (Trimble Inc., 2019), Maya (Autodesk Inc., 2019)& 3dsMax

(Autodesk Inc., 2019)

These three 3D modelling tools apply to all kinds of modelling tasks, from

hard to easy tasks. Since FBX format is the most common model format for

Unity 3D project, all models need to be transformed into this specific format.

Chapter 5 Problems and Analysis

5.1 Problems and Solutions

Project development is a complex process that requires passion and patience. It is

essential for involving personnel to have some fundamental knowledge of how every

link connects and how the system works, regardless of organisations or

individuals(Dzikiti, 2018). During the practical development process, problems

happened all the time. Typically, some common issues can be solved by a quick

search, while some are quite challenging. In this chapter, three main problems and

their final solutions will be listed below.

5.1.1 Photo/Video record, replay and share

In initial assumption, there supposed to be a preview page(including saving button

and sharing button) after I take a photo or video. After researching, it is almost

impossible for the IOS system to conduct such missions. For the photo function,

photos can be silently saved with a pop-up banner after the “capture” action. When

realising the video recording function, it is difficult to invoke the underlying operating

system function into our application. The main reason is that these are high-level-

permission functions, and the IOS system is not open-source for developers to

access their API. Developers can only perform by applying official developer

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documentation or using specific coding language. Therefore, I try to figure out

another way to achieve this goal. Considering that video recording can be similar to

screen recording, applying the screen recording function can be an alternative way

to solve this problem in the prototype version. According to the thinking above, I

found a few possible feasibilities to implement this function.

● ReplayKit

ReplayKit is an IOS-system-exclusive framework made by Apple that supports

the screen recording function. ReplayKit provides a fully functional interface

for users or players to edit or make their video clips. Following the Unity

documentation description(Docs.unity3d.com, 2019), the running and testing

results showed that this kit is not fully compatible, and bugs revealed all the

time. Though possible solutions are available in some developer communities,

they appear to be extremely complicated for beginners. So this solution goes

to a dead-end.

● ShareREC IOS

ShareREC is a video sharing plug-in created by MobTech. It enables built-in

video recording and sharing function in both android and IOS. After applying

ShareRec package in Unity, the project works fine. However, it displayed

errors when building in Xcode. Some developers online had also reported the

same problem, but unfortunately, there is no feasible way to solve that. This

method is passed out as well.

● EveryPlay Demo

EveryPlay is another tool to record replays and share content on social media

platforms. Despite its restriction in customisation, it is still powerful in other

aspects. Github contributors released this demo with detailed documentation,

which can be such a relief in the developing process. Through unremitting

efforts, EveryPlay finally works successfully both in Unity and Xcode. Except

for the no-hidden user interface in screen recording, the overall EverPlay

testing result is satisfying.

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5.1.2 360-degree video

To enrich the multi-media experiences for the users, I choose to create a 360-degree

panorama for the great wall video. The 360-degree video can be easily obtained by

simply exporting VR video in Adobe Premiere Pro; however, it is still not clear how

the 360-degree effect can be made in Unity. From online tutorials, some developers

try to use the gyroscope to play the 360-degree video on android phones. Though

possible in theory, it is still complicated for IOS system to activate the gyroscope in

practical development. Compared to gyroscope-control, swipe-control is more

feasible for this specific occasion. Another problem is that we need to know how to

add this particular type of video into the application. As Vecchioli demonstrated in

her tutorial in 2017, a spherical screen needs to be created to project the 360-degree

video and viewers will be located in the sphere centre. In this case, viewers can

swipe left and right to watch the video in every direction. Throughout the process, the

key point is to flip the sphere’s normal. This step enables viewers to see the sphere

from the inside instead of the outside. Once reversed the normal, the video can be

dragged to the sphere and ready to play.

5.1.3 Video playing problem

In the real mobile testing stage, three videos cannot be viewed in the AR camera,

whereas the background sounds are normal. The first thought was that the video

player might not work correctly, so a thorough check was conducted. Strangely, the

video player worked fine in the Unity testing. After researching, one of the posts from

Stackoverfolw suggests that the device setting is not compatible with Unity

setting(Jacqueline, 2018). Tried every version, but none of them works. A white or

black square still replaced the video. Finally, after transformed all the video into MOV

format through Quicktime(a multi-media framework developed by Apple), where

videos will be re-encoded. Surprisingly, all the videos worked well immediately.

5.2 Learnings

The problem-solving process is a comprehensive use of cognitive strategy, practical

experiences and knowledge. Problems may vary from time to time; the rules of

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addressing problems can be similar. In this specific project, strategic thinking skills

may help in analysing each problem from different perspectives. Information

gathering skills also makes a great contribution to finding every potential pathway by

broadening thinking.

5.3 Industry Feedback

In order to learn more from the industry, feedback from the Beijing tourism industry is

necessary for us to learn more critical insight. Zhangnan is the manager of Citywalk

Group in Qyer company, one of the most professional travel community in China.

She is expert in tourism marketing and tourism planning. When mentioned about this

project, she showed great interest in this whole concept and replied with her

comment(Appendix 2). She first compliments the idea and practical design, “Even if

tourists do not regard it as an AR travel guide, they may still consider it to be an art

collection since the whole design is tourist-centred”, which can be a massive relief.

As a marketer, she also illustrated the great potential and demand of this concept,

“For millennials, this kind of tryout can be powerful since they tend to be more

interested”. Apart from that, some advice is given to encourage to carry further with

this project from the marketing angle. She advised me to cooperate with Beijing

Tourism Commission or leadership travel company like the Lonely Planet. She

thought that the platform above might provide more possibilities and opportunities to

achieve my goal. Useful suggestions can be adopted to create real business value.

5.4 Testing and Evaluation

5.4.1 User Testing

In order to detect the design flaw and learn about real user experiences, user testing

is an essential step to be taken by designers and developers. The main goal of user

testing is to confirm or reestablish the requirements and expectations from the end-

users with their objective and independent views(En.wikipedia.org, 2019).

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As for this project, the choice of user testing method has its particularity. Since the

application is an IOS-based only mobile application, real obstacles exist in

downloading and setting this application prototype. That is, this application can only

be tested on a particular iPhone that has been pre-installed the testing version.

Unlike other mobile applications, augmented reality scan application is highly

connected with physical printed products. It has no meaning if the test cuts the

internal interactions between these two parts. Thus, testing has to involve the

physical brochure to uncover the interactive issues between the brochure and the

application. Considering the above factors, the moderated usability test method is

adopted for this project.

Moderated usability testing is a procedure of tracking a live user in person to find out

if the application is operational and obtain instant feedback (Babich, 2017). It also

offers more insights by observing body gestures and exchange language

communications from the participants. For example, some users might not be good

at expressing their real thoughts actively, so questions like “how do you feel about

this/that function?” can further the investigation in user experiences. When faced

with some usability problems, proper assistance from on-site moderators can keep

the testing going as usual. More questions can be raised to find out what caused the

confusions along with possible solutions(Balaguer, 2018).

For “Unfold Beijing” project, five testers participated in the usability test in Beijing due

to the specific project background. The recruiting modes consist of on-site

volunteering and friend volunteering. On-site volunteering testing is performed in the

Temple of Heaven park area(one of the most-visited tourist attractions by

foreigners), including an incentivising system to recruit more qualified testers.

Friend-volunteering testing is performed in the designated location per their

conveniences. These participants all required the following prerequisites(see the

user testing poster in Appendix 3): able to operate the application on iPhone,

understand English and willing to give feedback. After briefing the project with

participants, the usability test entered the formal testing stage. In this period of time,

moderators took notes and in charge of proceeding the tasks. Casual conversations

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and purposive debriefing about the project may help participants to relax and give

more useful insights. Afterwards, testers also required to take an interview survey

with six questions after finishing the usability test. The purpose is to probe their

frustrations and dig up more information through experience.

In the user testing process, participants uncovered many problems as well as

providing effective feedback both for brochure and application. A user testing

concluding note is created to serve further refinement(Appendix 4). See an example

below:

● Problem/Feedback: When it comes to the cinematographic footage or the

sound effect, users need some time to react, and some of them may get

confused about what is going on.

● Solution: Add a scan hint on each page to excite users in exploring

augmented content.

By sorting out problems in the user testing note, the resolution scheme will be

implemented before the final release and the user experience will be improved

significantly.

5.4.2 Survey Result

Evaluating and revising through testing is always a priority, not only for application

development but also for the whole interactive design project. “Unfold Beijing” project

is a fresh attempt to integrate augmented reality technology into tourist travel

experiences. To best learn about people’s thought over this temptation, a personal

interview survey was done after the usability testing. Unlike the online survey or

questionnaire survey, this kind of face-to-face survey can directly reveal the opinion

of the screened users as well as reflect their attitude towards the project. So, the

testing result can be more targeted and trustworthy.

As Sincero suggested in her article(Sincero, n.d.), the open-ended survey questions

are more tolerated by interviewees since this format of questions gives users free

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spaces to share and talk. Thus, the survey questions here commonly start with “How

do you think of .....” and “what do you like....” that are more likely to respond with

divergent opinions. Moreover, the face-to-face interview has its natural advantage in

sharing long answers orally, because people tend to readily express thoughts if they

are faced with a real product and a real interviewer that they can touch and talk to.

Based on the above considerations, the interview contained seven open-ended

questions, and every survey has been live recorded and reorganised into written

documentation(Appendix 5). The final result is also based on the feedback of five

interviewed users.

In order to reveal the interviewers' real attitudes towards this project, one of the

questions asked the respondents if they think it is useful to have this brochure when

visiting Beijing. The answers are mostly supportive, for instance, Lenna thought that

the brochure content fully covered every aspect of Beijing, and the whole design is

genuinely appealing to the first-time visitor like her. Kenny also considers it to be a

memorable collection in his Beijing journey and excitedly waiting for the application

to be officially published. As for other respondents, they even provide some

constructive suggestions. Steven commented, quoting his own words, “it is really

cool to see such thing both playful and informative. As for photographers like me, an

explore section for best shooting places could be more attractive.” This insight can

be beneficial for designers to create a more user-centred content collection based on

some unexpected but rational user demanding. Another feedback given by Field

indicated that Beijing should not be the only city to have this fresh concept, but all

the tourism city should apply for this augmented tourists solution. It uniquely

reflected the potential business value in this project to some extent.

Chapter 6 Conclusion

6.1 Project Context and Review

AR technology applies virtual information to the real world with computer and

visualisation technology, so that the real environment and virtual objects are

superimposed on the same image in real-time. Although there are disadvantages in

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augmented reality technology, numbers of research and analysis show that it has

bright prospects. Compared with virtual reality experience, augmented reality

experience is not as highly immersive, but it has high popularity among ordinary

users. At the same time, the launch of ARKit and ARCore in development platform

technically realises the combination of augmented reality and smart mobile devices.

In the future, people can interact with the system through more natural human-

computer interaction. In the future, augmented reality technology will significantly

change human life. It is an inevitable trend in technology development.

As for tourism, innovative technologies have made significant progress in tourism

services. AR is a thriving and innovative technology that helps marketers in the

tourism industries improve service quality and create value for consumers. The use

of AR in tourism has exceeded consumer expectations and satisfaction, creating an

unforgettable experience. The application of augmented reality technology makes

the travel experience more convenient, comfortable and intelligent. Therefore, for

urban tourism, AR is one of the most effective tools to enhance the tourism

experience.

6.2 Future Work

6.2.1 Tourism industry

As far as the current situation is concerned, AR is still a relatively new technology,

and there are still many constraints in actual use:

1. The product user experience is not good enough.

2. AR travel use scenarios are limited to achieve its potential user value

3. Lack of valuable applications and quality content

4. AR is a new three-dimensional human-computer interaction technology, which

can be different from the former interaction method. It will take a long time for

the entire industry to cultivate user habits.

Also, the marketing strategy should be considered in the next implementation stage.

Since it is a highly industrial-related project, it is possible to launch a marketing

campaign.

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6.2.2 Practical improvement

In practical development, many functions and designs have not reached their

perfectness. In terms of design, although the details of the brochure show

interactivity, the overall interactive experience is not as high as expected. For

example, the design of the cover does not show the 3D effect very well, resulting in

insufficient user appeal. In addition, the content setting of 10 essential experiences is

too similar, which is easy for users to experience aesthetic fatigue. In the aspect of

application development, due to technical limitations, the final presentation tends to

be a content display instead of a content interaction. The limited visual effects may

not satisfy the user experience in the long term. Apart from traditional audio, video,

animations and annotations, interactive games should be applied into the overlay of

the printed brochure.

6.3 Summary

In summary, AR technology realises the innovation of experience content, interaction

mode and communication effect. As a user, AR augmented reality technology makes

tourists no longer passively reading and passively telling the steps and processes of

tourism. Instead, it encourages visitors to experience, experience and participate in

tourism activities. It redefines the way of tourism and enhances it. The combination

of AR and the travel brochure has also changed the way traditional paper media

information is obtained. Undoubtedly, in the future, the value of AR technology in

practical applications and the role of travel will not be limited to the above concepts.

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Chapter 7 References

7.1 Bibliography

Azuma, R. (1997). A Survey of Augmented Reality. Presence: Teleoperators and

Virtual Environments, 6(4), pp.355-385.

B.Craig., A. (2013). Understanding Augmented Reality. Morgan Kaufmann

Publishers.

Babich, N. (2017). The Top 5 User Testing Methods | Adobe Blog. [online] Adobe

Blog. Available at: https://theblog.adobe.com/the-top-5-user-testing-methods/

[Accessed 7 Aug. 2019].

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53

7.2 Online Material an sources

• App

Camera+Microphone+Photo album+Notification Icon:

https://elements.envato.com/130-ios-line-icons-WP9XNS

• Brochure

Beijing Skyline Illustration: https://www.dreamstime.com/beijing-skyline-

monochrome-silhouette-beijing-skyline-monochrome-silhouette-vector-illustration-

image112370289

Beijing Map Illustration:

https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/image-vector/beijing-vector-city-street-map-

584359972?src=library&studio=1

CCTV Building Photo:

https://unsplash.com/search/photos/beijing-

cctv?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText

Beijing Duck Photo Ori:

https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/image-photo/peking-duck-bamboo-steamer-served-

fresh-649562131

Panjiayuan Photo:

https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/image-photo/beijing-china-april-15-2017-various-

639906616

Writing Fu:

https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/image-photo/chinese-new-year-character-fu-

blessing-1280785186

Hutong:

https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/image-photo/beijing-china-march-12-2016-old-

1117501670

• AR Content：

Temple of Heaven 3D Model Base

https://www.cgmodel.com/model-177484.html

Forbidden City 3D Model

54

https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/architectural/other/forbiden-city

Hutong 3D Model

https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/architectural/street/siheyuan

CCTV Tower 3D Model

https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/exterior/skyscraper/cctv-main-building

Writing Fu Video

https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/video/clip-16543357-handwriting-chinese-

characters-which-mean-%22fortune%22-ink

The Great Wall

https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/exterior/landmark/great-wall-of-china--2

•Development References

Everyplay SDK

https://github.com/Everyplay/everyplay-ios-sdk

360-degree video in Unity

https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-make-a-360-vr-app-with-unity-

51cbe41ad8f1/

https://developer.vuforia.com/forum/digital-eyewear/create-360-degree-panorama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SdeADt7Od0

https://developer.vuforia.com/forum/unity/help-needed-image-target-360-video-

gyroscope

Video cannot play only sound with white/black square

https://developer.vuforia.com/forum/ios/videoplayback-remote-video

User Testing

https://measuringu.com/20-usability-tips/

https://usabilitygeek.com/usability-testing-mobile-applications/

https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/ux-usability-research-testing/

https://usabilityhour.com/start-user-testing/

https://qubstudio.com/blog/how-to-do-usability-testing-for-mobile-application/

https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/how-to-write-usability-testing-questions/

55

Appendices

Appendix 1: Brochure Content Setting

01 Ancient Temples - Experience inner peace in a Chinese way

THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN

There are countless temples all over Beijing, each with its own unique style. They

represent the pinnacle of Chinese culture. Once you step into one of these temples,

you’ll suddenly find yourself transported to a different world. While you’re visiting,

don’t forget to make a wish! It might just come true.

Top 5 Temples

• Temple of Heaven

• Lama Temple

• Fa Yuan Temple

• Miao Ying Temple White Dagoba

• White Cloud Temple

02 The Imperial Splendor - Trace the imperial roots of Beijing

THE FORBIDDEN CITY

Although Beijing today is a modern city complete with skyscrapers and fancy

buildings, it is still very much tied to its ancient roots. Amid the gleaming glass

towers, you’ll find the Forbidden City at the centre of Beijing. Here’s a tip: If you

climb up to the top of Jingshan mountain you’ll get a bird’s eye view of the Forbidden

City as well as all of Beijing.

Top 5 Imperial Sites

• Forbidden City

• Summer Palace

• The Confucius Temple

• Prince Gong’s Residence

• Old Summer Palace

03 Serene Parks - Sanctuary to escape the city hustle

56

BEIHAI PARK

Beijing’s numerous parks provide people here with a quiet, peaceful place to escape

the hustle of the sprawling city. From dawn to dusk, you can find locals here relaxing.

They may be playing Taichi, jogging, or even rowing a boat in the middle of the lake.

After all, they are not just recreational places; they are also important heritages sites.

Top 5 Parks

• Beihai Park

• Jinshan Park

• Fragrant Hill Park

• Temple of Heaven Park

• Temple of the Sun

04 Modern Architecture - New blood in the ancient city

CCTV HEADQUARTERS

Ancient. Modern. Beijing has it all from ancient temples and palaces to towering

skyscrapers and beautiful modern buildings. Local people love to give these modern

buildings cute nicknames. For example, the CCTV headquarters is commonly known

as “The Big Underpants”. And the Galaxy SOHO has been given the nickname “the

alien warship”. In just a few minutes walk, you can see anything from ancient

wonders to futuristic edifices.

Top 5 Must-see Buildings

• CCTV Building

• National Centre for the Performing Arts

• Galaxy SOHO

• Wangjing SOHO

• Z15 Tower

05 The Local Market Vibe - The joy of exploring and bargaining

PANJIAYUAN MARKET

Markets in Beijing provide visitors with almost anything you could imagine. From

high-tech gadgets to handwoven silk and antiques, the choices are endless at

57

Beijing’s markets. Spend a day checking out the numerous markets all around

Beijing, each with its own unique feel. Shop ‘til you drop!

Top 5 Local Markets

• Panjianyuan Antique Market

• Sanlitun Yashow Clothing Market

• Silk Market

• Maliandao Tea Market

• Sanyuanli Market

06 The Historic Hutong - Wander unique lanes that tell stones of the past

HUTONGS

Hutongs are a distinct kind of alleyway unique to Beijing that cut across the city. If

the ancient palaces and modern buildings make up the skeleton of Beijing, the

hutongs are the veins that flow through the city. Although the city may look old and

traditional, they are still home to almost 20% of all residents in Beijing. Try to

immerse yourself in the hutong lifestyle. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.

5 Best Historic Hutong

• Guozijian Street

• Mao’er Hutong

• Wudaoying Hutong

• Nanluogu Alley

• Dashilar

07 The Art Neighborhood - Immerse yourself in inspiration

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY ‘FU’ - FORTUNE

Beijing is not only the political centre of China but also the cultural capital. There are

numerous museums and galleries, as well as hundreds of theatres and shows for

you to experience. If you really want to get a feel for the rich culture of Beijing, try

finding a small workshop to learn some traditional Chinese arts, such as calligraphy

or paper cutting. It’s never too late to try!

Top 5 Best Cultural Experiences

• Tianqiao Acrobatics Theatre

58

• Chinese Calligraphy Writing

• Painting a Rabbit in Old Beijing Tu’erye

• Chinese Paper Cutting

• Square Dacing

08 The Great Wall - Meet the eternal miracle

The Great Wall

The Great Wall is, without a doubt, the most famous tourist sight in China. It has

dozens of sections that stretch across 17 provinces, each with its own distinct

characteristic. As the old proverb says, ‘One who fails to reach the Great Wall is not

a hero. ’ So the question is not whether you should see it, it’s which part of the Great

Wall you should visit.

09 A Foodie Heaven - Never too late to try

The Peking Duck

You may have heard that Chinese people have an absolute obsession for food.

You’ll definitely see (or taste) why while you’re in Beijing. With over 60,000

restaurants and countless places to eat street food, you should prepare both your

stomach as well as your wallet. One of the must-try dishes in Beijing is Peking Duck,

the most iconic and famous Beijing delicacy.

Top 5 Must-Try Dishes

• Peking Duck

• Dumplings and Baozi

• Beijing/Sichuan Hotpot

• Noodles

• Chinese Barbecue

10 The Beijing Style - Explore the city like a local

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Appendix 2: Industry Feedback Evidence

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Appendix 3: User testing evidence

User Testing with Steven

User Testing Poster

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Appendix 4: User Testing Note

Testing 01:

•3 videos cannot be loaded and played. Only the background sound with a white

square on the screen.

•The navigation buttons look strange on the top right corner and hard to be noticed

by users.All navigation buttons should be moved to the bottom left, above the

horizontal lines of PHOTO and VIDEO.

•Wrong screen resolution result to white gap on both sides of the screen.

•The navigation button cover the close button on the Great Wall Page. And the

duration time of pop-up hint need to be extended for users to finish reading, at least

2s before disappearing.

•In the Settings page, the sound switch has the right style. On the right, the button is

red; On the right when off, the inside of the button is white.

Testing 02:

• The camera is already on when the permission require page showing. If accidently

scan a page with sound, it will be played before you see the image.

•The duration time of “photo saved to album" pop-up hint after taking a photo is too

short, too small, and the position is too low. It should be above the 'PHOTO' button.

•Video only records the screen. When playing back, all the things that were on the

screen when recording will appear on the screen.

• The UI position of playback interface is completely wrong. Play back the progress

bar because it's too low to drag at all.

•After clicking share button, the background of the system sharing interface triggered

by share is not to play back the video interface, but to skip the scanning interface.

•Vuforia watermark

•3 video (Beihai, Fu, roast duck) cannot be played, and only background sound with

black square.

•The navigation button can only jump to a large map area on Google map, not an

exact location on the map.

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Problems-and-solutions:

•People tend to focus more on the AR visual content with little intension in taking a

picture or recording a video. The AR contents completely take away all the eyesight

from the user. They do not pay enough attention to the brochure. --- brochure will be

obtained first in the actual situation

•When it comes to the cinematographic footage or the sound effect, users need

some time to react, and some may get confused about what is going on.---- put a

scan hint on every page to provide detailed instructions

•They don't have enough patience to watch a 2 mins video with their hand holding

the phone above the brochure. --- shorten the time of the video

• The content of the Panjiayuan Market Page is the same with the CCTV Page---

rewrite the content

APP BUG:

• Users cannot find the close button for the 360 videos because it is white and

overlap with the light part of the video. ----- change the color of the icon and add

color to fill √

• The 360 video close button does not hide when the app opens for the first time.

Only if you scan the Great Wall AR content and close it, all the other functions will

work properly. --- hide the button in unity√

• The UX of the Great Wall Page. Do not close automatically. Or they try to swipe up

and down, and the app does not respond.------ √

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Appendix 5: Interview Survey

Testers：

Steven Media Industry Employee

Field Rugby Coach

Lenna

Kenny

Rui Student

Survey Note

1. How do you think of the user interface design? (Color/Layout)

• It's nice. Have no complaints about this.

• Barely notice. I focus more on all the AR contents.

•I like the color.

• Simple and clear.

2. How easy is our application to use? Is there something that may confuse you?

• The buttons at the top are a little bit hard to see because of the colour (white).

• The navigation button is easy to be ignored because our users don't know what

was for. Maybe we should add a tag to explain what it for or add a hint overlay to

show its function.

• The AR scan is really responsive.

• There should be some hints on each page to let our users know the effect they are

going to see. For example 'Scan to see....../ Scan to watch...../Swipe to watch....' It

could be more precise.

• Some users think that all contents should be all put on the phone.

Or they have to look at the phone and look away from the phone to read the

brochure. They only want to focus on one thing in two, the app or the brochure.

• It's simple and easy to use. Hardly need to adapt and learn how to use.

3. What function in this application do you like most?

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• Steven likes the details of the AR content. If it were not that detailed, would not find

it so appealing.

• Take the Forbidden city Model as an example; Since there are lots of parts in the

palace, maybe we could add some pop-up explanation tags to show the name of

each building and give a brief intro to make it more attractive to watch. For

foreigners, they may not know which side is the front, and the tags may make it

easier to comprehend.

• I like the 360 Panorama of the Great Wall. It's quite magnificent.

• Really like the Fu Page. Caz the animation is so cool that fits so well with the

image.

4. What do you like least about this?

• For the Panjiayuan Market Page, the ambience could be a little bit dull. Maybe we

should add more animations.

• The last page is too long and too dull. I do not have enough patience. Show some

brevity.

• The ambience of the Panjiayuan Market is not that straight forward enough. I don't

get it. Maybe you should give me a hint.

5. Do you think it would be useful if you could get a brochure like this while you were

visiting Beijing?

•It is truly appealing to us, especially since it almost covered every aspect of Beijing.

• It would be cool. But if it is a tourist brochure, it should be more informational.

Users may not know how much information I could get from it. Maybe a function

called 'Explore More'.

• It could organize more differently. If it has different places to take photos on the

Explore Page, it would be more attractive to tourists.

• For sure. Maybe you can collaborate with the lonely planet. AR Lonely Planet

sounds even more attractive.

• It’s cool and I’ll keep it. It’ s really memorable. Wait for your app to be published.

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6. How likely is it that you could recommend this brochure and application to your

friend who wants to visit Beijing?

• Definitely would recommend. Some of them think that every city should have one of

this brochure but not only for Beijing.

• 70%. This brochure does not provide enough information that I want.

• So cool.

• 100% recommend. Gonna take a photo of it.

• I like the post card setting, it is really a wonderful idea to create some thing both

playful and informative

Integrating an Augmented Reality App Into the Interactive Brochure ...

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