Collaborative presentation and critique of physical artifacts is an essential part of the design process and studio model in many disciplines, such as Industrial Design (ID). In a conventional in-person session, the instructor and other students can communicate fluidly about the artifacts because of the shared space and ease of spatial referencing.
However, moving these critique sessions online to support re-mote learning is difficult, as it is challenging to give feedback on a physical object through remote communication tools. While using groupware like video calls can provide a real-time visual of a physical object, those who see the physical object through a computer screen cannot see the object at its true scale, cannot examine it from various angles, thus fail to perceive the object correctly through the transmitted visual. Furthermore, referring to locations, parts, or spatial characteristics of an object requires excessive descriptive language for the person without access to the artifact. Moreover, both parties need additional verbal confirmation to ensure consensus on the point of interest.
This project presents ARCritique, a mobile augmented reality application that combines KinectFusion and ARKit to allow users to 1) scan artifacts and share the resulting 3D models, 2) view the model simultaneously in a shared virtual environment from remote physical locations, and 3) point to and draw on the model to aid communication. A preliminary evaluation of ARCritique revealed great potential for supporting remote design education.