Projects

The Virtual UCF Arboretum

Figure 1: Video of The Virtual UCF Arboretum Virtual Nature Model and Educational Simulation, credits: The Harrington Lab, UCF, 2018.

The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project (2016 – present) is a Virtual Nature model annotated to work as an educational simulation. Constructed as a large open world, using sparse GIS data sets required for information fusion and domain expertise to achieve accuracy and realism, the data are visualized with photorealistic accuracy to match the real environment. The ambient bioacoustics are accurate representations of insects, amphibians, and birds found in the environment. All photorealistic 3D plant models are botanically correct, and each is dispersed using actual plant population data to simulate realistic dispersion and densities. The 100 hectare (247 acres) virtual model was constructed in the Unreal game engine. The virtual environment is unique because it integrates a complementary website with a digital media plant atlas that includes facts and concepts, which allows individual users to pursue deeper inquiry at the moment of personal encounter and curiosity. The Virtual UCF Arboretum project is an augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) collaboration between The Harrington Lab in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, in the College of Arts and Humanities, and the UCF Arboretum, Landscape and Natural Resources in the Department of Biology, in the College of Sciences, at the University of Central Florida.

Software: The Virtual UCF Arboretum Application (Version 1.0) 

The Unreal Game Engine application may be downloaded and used to explore the virtual, multimodal, and interactive virtual nature environment on any Windows PC with a graphics card.

Creative Works as Principal Investigator

Harrington, Maria C. R., Bohlen, P., Beck, K., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Miller, J., Pring, T., Elliott, J., Jarrett, R., Lindsay, A., and Guziejka, J. (2016-2018).  The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project (Version 1.0).Unreal Game engine level complete October, 2018.

Harrington, Maria C. R., Bohlen, P., Beck, K., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Miller, J., Pring, T., Elliott, J., Jarrett, R., Lindsay, A., and Guziejka, J. (2016-2018).  The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project (Version 1.0). VR complete November, 2018.

Harrington, Maria C. R., Bohlen, P., Beck, K., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Miller, J., Pring, T., Elliott, J., Jarrett, R., Lindsay, A., and Guziejka, J. (2016- 2018). The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project Website (Version 1.0) Launched October 2018. Available from UCF: https://arboretum.ucf.edu/virtual/

Harrington, Maria C. R., Bohlen, P., Beck, K., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Miller, J., Pring, T., Elliott, J., Jarrett, R., Lindsay, A., and Guziejka, J. (2016- 2018). The Virtual UCF Arboretum Project Website (Version 1.0) Launched January 2019. Published on PBS LearningMedia

The AR Perpetual Garden

Figure 2: Video of The AR Perpetual Garden App.

The AR Perpetual Garden (2015-2018), is an Augmented Reality App for use inside and outside museums to extend the learning impact of real dioramas and gardens. Knowledge and complex causal chain interactions previously locked in traditional artifacts become accessible with immersive data visualizations and bio acoustics reflecting scientific data sets to show two contrasting scenarios – Woodland in Balance and Woodland out of Balance. This Augmented Reality implementation is unique as it is uses the vision tracking features of the most recently released ARCore and ARKit SDKs producing a perceptual experience on parity with reality. The concepts and knowledge are easily accessible at a click of a button to hear the curator’s interpretive narrative and access a complementary website of facts, The Virtual Garden Timeline.

The AR Perpetual Garden App was developed in part, as an international collaboration between The Harrington Lab at the University of Central Florida, The Powdermill Nature Reserve at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the MultiMediaTechnology program of the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria. Undergraduate and graduate students were involved in the production of the app. The multidisciplinary effort was developed with my partners, Dr. John W. Wenzel, Director, Powdermill Nature Reserve, CMNH and Dr. Markus Tatzgern, FH-Professor, Head of Game Development and Mixed Reality, MultiMediaTechnology program of the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria.

The data visualizations and multimodal experiences of the two scenarios reflect scientific data sets to present two contrasting scenarios – Woodland in Balance, and Woodland out of Balance for experiential learning.

Creative Works as Principal Investigator

Harrington, Maria C. R., Wenzel, J. W., Tatzgern, M., Langer T., Oliver, M., Isaac, B., Guffey, A., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C., Dinic, R., and Tiefengrabner, M. (2017-2018). The AR Perpetual Garden Apps. Published on Apple iTunes App Store (Version 1.2) Launched October 25, 2018. Available from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ar-perpetual-garden/id1438086490?mt=8

Harrington, Maria C. R., Wenzel, J. W., Tatzgern, M., Langer T., Oliver, M., Isaac, B., Guffey, A., Bledsoe, Z., Jones, C.  and Dinic, R. (2017-2018). The AR Perpetual Garden Apps. Published on Google Play Android Store (Version 6.6.6) Launched November 30, 2018. Available from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carnegie.garden

Harrington, Maria C. R., Wenzel, J. W., Oliver, M., Isaac, B., Guffey, A., Bledsoe, Z. and Jones, C. (2015-2017). The Virtual Garden Timeline Website. (Launch 2017. https://virtualgarden.powdermill.org/ )

The Virtual Trillium Trail

Figure 3: Video of The Virtual Trillium Trail, credits: Maria C. R. Harrington, 2008.

The Virtual Trillium Trail (2003-2008), research project objective was to simulate a real world field trip for testing of digital media design factors and impacts on emotions and learning outcomes. It was a dissertation investigation into the design, construction, testing, and evaluation of the child-computer environment interface and the simulation to support children at the moment of curiosity, with access to knowledge at points of interest, much like an expert naturalist teacher or guide. The research used ethnographic design and empirical investigation into the design parameters and proved that photorealistic, open navigational environments outperform non-photorealistic, restricted navigational environments on knowledge gained, inquiry, and emotional outcomes, due to salient events triggered by salient features in the ambient array of the virtual nature model.  A pilot study showed that the real field trip outperformed the virtual in total learning, but when content is identical, identical learning outcomes were measured and transfer, reinforcement gains indicated that best educational practices are to use the virtual to reinforce the real, not as a replacement.