Collaborative Research: Elements: Enriching Scholarly Communication with Augmented Reality

今天的在线购物者可以使用增强现实(AR)将他们的智能手机对准客厅的一个空角落，看看那里的特定新台灯可能是什么样子，用餐者只需扫描桌子上张贴的二维码，就可以立即在手机上看到餐厅的菜单。这个项目将利用过去几年企业界在AR方面的巨大投资，以及人们熟悉的二维码的易用性，让天文学家能够像购买新沙发一样轻松地看到和探索3D宇宙。基于他们在2021年成功地在美国天文学会杂志上发表了第一个AR增强的数字，该奖项的资金将用于创建一个强大的系统，允许任何作者在增强现实环境中发布展示高维数据的数字。除了网上购物者使用的智能手机和平板电脑外，不需要其他昂贵的设备。天文学家将能够看到和探索他们的“3D”数据，方法是在平坦表面上盘旋的投影周围走动，或使用AR目标设备手持数据。例如，想象一个来自黑洞的喷流，从一个模拟星系的中心喷出物质，投射到研究人员的厨房桌子上方，等等。在整个项目过程中，该团队将设计、反复测试并最终部署一个高效且有效的端到端系统，用于在学术期刊中嵌入增强现实数字。通过丰富学术交流，这一基于AR的新系统有望加快科学发现的步伐。所创建的系统将跨越多个模块化的网络基础设施组成部分，包括：数据格式标准；数据分析软件；3D转换工具；AR整合管道；可视身份证编码基础设施；以及出版过程。根据这项提案创建和测试的用于创作和部署AR数据的系统代表了网络基础设施创新，最终将为所有依赖高维数据有效交流的人打开全新的交流渠道。该项目得到了计算机与信息科学与工程局的高级网络基础设施办公室和数学和物理科学局的天文科学部的支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Today’s online shoppers can use augmented reality (AR) to aim their smartphones at an empty corner of their living room to see how a particular new lamp might look there, and diners can instantly see a restaurant's menu on their phones just by scanning a QR code posted at their table. This project will leverage the tremendous investments in AR made by the corporate world over the past several years, and the familiar ease of QR codes, to allow astronomers to see and explore the 3D Universe just as easily as they might shop for a new couch. Building on their 2021 success in publishing the first AR-enhanced figure in an American Astronomical Society Journal, the funding from this award will be used to create a robust system allowing any author to publish figures showcasing high-dimensional data in augmented reality environments. No expensive equipment beyond the same smartphones and tablets used by online shoppers will be needed. Astronomers will be able to see and explore their data in "3D" by walking around projections of it hovering above flat surfaces, or holding in their hands using AR target devices. Imagine, for example, a jet from a black hole, spewing out material from the center of a simulated galaxy, projected just above a researcher’s kitchen table, etc.Over the course of the project, the team will design, repeatedly test, and ultimately deploy an efficient and effective end-to-end system for embedding augmented reality figures in scholarly journals. By enriching scholarly communication, this new AR-based system is expected to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery. The system created will extend across multiple modular cyberinfrastructure components, including: data format standards; data analysis software; 3D conversion tooling; AR integration pipelines; visual ID encoding infrastructure; and the publication process. The system for authoring and deploying AR figures created and tested under this proposal represents cyberinfrastructure innovation that will ultimately open completely new channels for communication amongst all who rely on effective communication of high-dimensional data.This project is supported by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering and the Division of Astronomical Sciences in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.