Today we present the first in a series of guest blog posts, the first of which comes from Sarah Taigel at the University of East Anglia.
Traditionally rural landscapes have been managed
primarily for agriculture and forestry. However the landscape provides a wealth
of other natural benefits (ecosystem services) to human kind, some obvious such
as food and fresh water, and some so subtle they do not feature in the public
consciousness (National Ecosystem Assessment, 2011). The National Ecosystem
Assessment has highlighted growing individual consumerism as one source of
pressure on ecosystem services; there is a need to communicate to people the
link between personal behaviour and pressures on the ecosystem services in the
landscape.
Figure
1. VesAR screenshots
I
created an augmented reality applet called VesAR (Visualising ecosystem
services using Augmented Reality) (see Figure 1 above) which
can be downloaded onto mobile smartphones. The secure applet runs within LayAR
which can be downloaded from iTunes or Android marketplace. VesAR uses the
smartphones camera, GPS, compass, accelerometer and needs an internet
connection (see Figure 2). GPS determines the exact location of the device
(within a few meters) and the compass and accelerometer determine the field of
view. The person using the device sees the world via the camera image which is
displayed on the screen, this is overlaid, or augmented, with additional information (POIs – Points of Interest)
in the form of text and images via mobile internet to both locate and describe
the ecosystem service. In the summer of 2012 two smartphones and a Galaxy
tablet will be used to trial the applet on guided tours of the Gaywood
catchment in Norfolk. The survey results will hopefully tell me the degree
with which people engage with and understand ecosystem services and how the use
of technology can assist in the communication of scientific information.
Figure
2. VesAR architecture
VesAR
development has been relatively straightforward after trials of the applet were
moved to a nearby floodplain reducing interference from buildings. Installing GPS Test meant that the accuracy of the
GPS fix could be verified before initialising the VesAR applet. Continued issues
include the GPS draining battery, exacerbated by the screen running at full
brightness for outdoor use; alternative charging sources are being tested for
use in the field. The Environmental Sciences department at the UEA has been
supportive and interested in the use of this technology within my research project;
particular interest has been shown in using the BGS iGeology application on fieldwork courses. The hardware will be
used on fieldwork and in the curriculum to introduce students to the power of
location based information and the ease with which information can be
communicated between devices and the lab or desk.
Sarah Taigel is an ESRC
funded PhD researcher at the University of East Anglia, her PhD topic is
“visioning catchment futures” and focuses on communicating ecosystem services currently
obtained from the catchment landscape. Sarah also uses scenario modelling to
explore how the provision of ecosystem services may change in the future. The views expressed in this blog piece are the
authors and not those of the University.
