C4 | Life The Sunday Times | Sunday, March 26, 2017
At Metta School in Simei, ninepupils attend an unusual sciencelesson with a twist.
They use augmented reality tolearn about animal adaptations –features such as a camel’s humpand its long eyelashes that help itsurvive – and are drawn in by theanimation and sound effects.
The school has been using aug-mented reality in some scienceclasses since last June and the newfeature has sparked interest in the
subject and helps pupils concen-trate, says their science teacher, MsLaura Lim, 27.
Augmented reality, which super-imposes computer-generated infor-mation onto a user’s view of the realworld, does more than just allowusers to picture themselves withcute Pokemon Go characters orplace rabbit ears on their head viaSnapchat.
Recently, the technology hassurfaced in areas such as educationand design, and has been used inmuseums, proving that there arepractical applications too.
At least three primary schools –Chongzheng, Riverside and FirstToa Payoh – have also been using anaugmented reality app by virtual andaugmented reality provider EonReality in some of their scienceclasses.
Montfort Junior School also plansto conduct visual arts classes thatintroduce its Primary 2 pupils toaugmented reality, in the secondhalf of the year. These classes,which are co-designed with localtechnology start-up Immersively,will teach pupils to use augmentedreality technology in art creation.
The school’s aesthetics co-ordina-tor, Mrs Cassandra Ng, 45, says:“Pupils nowadays are exposed totechnology from a young age. Wewant to engage them through plat-forms such as augmented realityand help them be competent andknowledgeable in this area.
“We also want to spark creativityin them and help them make con-nections between such technologyand what they are learning inschool.”
Adults, too, are enjoying thedevelopments in augmented realitytechnology.
A new smartphone, launched lastmonth, boasts several newaugmented reality features madepossible through Tango, an aug-mented reality technology platformdeveloped by Google. It has, amongother things, depth-sensing andmotion-tracking capabilities.
Users of the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro,the first Tango-enabled smart-phone, can download an app calledMeasure, which allows them topoint their phone cameras at anobject to estimate its length, width,height and volume.
The measurements are displayedin augmented reality and seen onthe screen of the phone.
Another downloadable app, Dino-saurs Among Us, created in partner-ship with the American Museum ofNaturalHistory, enables users to seevirtual life-sized models of four di-nosaurs – the archaeopteryx, ve-lociraptor, caudipteryx and ornitho-mimus – anywhere, perched on thekitchen table or at a nearbybasketball court.
Click on each reptile and descrip-tion boxes pop up with interestingfacts.
Sales of the new phone have beenencouraging.
Mr Khoo Hung Chuan, 48,Lenovo’s cluster general managerfor Malaysia and Singapore, says:“As the augmented and virtual realityecosystem grows, the variety ofthese devices and experiences willdrive the explosion and adoption ofsuch technology into mainstreammarkets. We believe that there’sroom for both augmented and virtualreality smartphones and othertechnologies such as headsets.”
Museums are also turning toaugmented reality in a big way. TheIndian Heritage Centre incorporatedaugmented reality in its permanentgalleries in 2015, allowing visitorsto listen to a virtual personal guide.
The ArtScience Museum followedsuit last month, with an exhibitionthat uses augmented reality to takevisitors through a Sumatran rain-forest.
The Trick Eye Museum in Sentosais also expected to introduceaugmented reality features in itsexhibits in the coming months.
Associate Professor of Law EugeneTan, who co-teaches an inter-disci-plinary course on emerging techno-logy at Singapore ManagementUniversity, says: “As we aspire to bea Smart Nation, there is no doubt
that augmented reality will beincreasingly common and used in avariety of sectors ranging fromeducation and eldercare to health-care and marketing.”
But experts and industry playerssay the development of suchtechnology, while promising, is notwithout its challenges.
Mr Sahil Kumar, 26, businessdevelopmentmanager at Eon Reality,adds: “A lot of attention and time isneeded to create augmented realitysimulations. Our apps are conceptu-alised with teachers and iteratedmultiple times to achieve thedesired learning outcome.”
Associate Professor of Informa-tion Technology and OperationsManagement Damien Joseph atNanyang Business School says:“The cost of implementation is stilla challenge. Organisations alsoneed to assess how and whyaugmented reality adds value totheir services.
According to Mr Y.T. Ho, 52, direc-tor of local technology companyDante Technologies, the costrequired to create augmented realityproducts can range fromUS$30,000 (S$42,000) to morethan US$500,000, depending onthe complexity of the effects.
But when done right, for examplein schools, augmented reality canmake classes come alive.
Metta School student Nabil Qus-yairi Adi Hasri, 11, who usedaugmented reality to view a virtualcamel on an iPad during his scienceclass last Thursday, says: “I feel likeI am playing a computer game.
“The camel looks like it is in thereal world – so fun!”
Move over,Pokemon Go,it’s time forscience classAugmented reality,the technology used in themobile game, is now beingused in education and design,among other things
PRESENTS March 3 - 26, 2017NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE10AM – 7PM DAILYFREE ADMISSION
A baby is handed through a hole in a razor-wire barrier to a Syrian refugee who has already managed to cross the border from Serbia into Hungary, near Roszke.
Presented by The Straits Times, the World Press Photo exhibition showcases 145 award-winning images on signi�cant news events from around the world.
To �nd out how to win, go to www.straitstimes.com/st-world-press-photo-2016
Photo by WARREN RICHARDSONWorld Press Photo of the Year (2016)
In conjunction with the World Press Photo exhibition, we are giving away a one-night staycation at the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, Canon Selphy printers (two to be won) and Grand Bateau wine-sets (�ve to be won). Terms and conditions apply.
Metta Schoolscience teacherLaura Lim usingaugmentedreality toteach studentsthe processof animaladaptation.
The Dinosaurs Among Us app lets users plant virtual life-sized dinosaurs in the real world on their phones. PHOTOS: NIVASH JOYVIN FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES
Augmented realityMore stories at straitstimes.com
WATCH THE VIDEO Measure furniture for your home using a smartphone http://str.sg/47VA
Benson Ang
Features
Recommended
