The application of service orientation on a mobile AR platform — a museum scenario

Mobile augmented reality has become an influential tool for digital content representation in terms of enhancing users’ experience and improving the adaptability and usability of augmented reality applications. In our research, we have developed a service oriented mobile AR architecture for multiple applications, such as a museum interactive or web app. Our solution enhances closed platform mobile AR applications to create more flexible mobile AR clients that efficiently support content acquisition and utilization of third party digital media contents on a real scene. Our example web service framework on a mobile AR client exploits specific museum (e.g. Victoria and Albert Museum) or third party APIs (e.g. Google Maps) to aggregate data from participating web service providers. A typical media API content request is sent to a content provider to obtain a targeted cultural object’s associated media contents such as 3D models, images, text, videos and metadata. Acquired contents are then visualized in both VR and AR environments and consumed by mobile users. Other examples of supporting modules include photogrammetry based 3D reconstructions based on available commercial or open source web services and personalization that allow a user to request rich media, e.g. 3D models, and associated metadata, of a targeted cultural object for exploiting in a ‘saved museum exhibition’.