Capital Bikeshare and Augmented Reality
This is part of an ongoing series of posts related to DC’s Capital Bikeshare and our experimentation with data visualization, analytics, and augmented reality. Recently we expanded our experimentation on the data available from Capital Bikeshare to include augmented reality. We’ll continue using the #bikeshare tag to track stories related to this topic.
If you’ve been following along with us then you know that in our last project we created a chord diagram utilizing the data provided by Capital Bikeshare. While working with the data we felt that some of it was ideal for an augmented reality representation.
The initial prototype AR app we have created for the iPhone shows the user where the nearest set of Capital Bikeshare stations are relative to the user’s location and their directional orientation (i.e., direction being faced). As shown below, the AR overlay is rather basic showing the name and distance of each station. A near term enhancement will include any real-time information that we can obtain.The images to the left are of our AR overlay showing Capital Bikeshare stations near the Crystal City metro stop in Arlington, VA.
To put this prototype together quickly we looked for a fairly easy to use framework. We settled on HD Augmented Reality. The framework supports access to the phone’s camera for a video feed of the surroundings and uses the phone’s location services, gyroscope and compass to determine the direction of the overlay. It saved us from having to be facile with all the math required. When using the app the data is constantly refreshed in the background allowing us to update the information displayed as the position of the phone or user shift.
Challenges
Our AR app is fairly low fidelity because the video stream is a recently visual representation of what the phone camera lens might be seeing but not an actual live feed. It feels fairly close to live video with a metadata overlay on top of what is being seen by the user’s eyes. This is a downside of using a mobile phone for an AR app. Whereas more advanced AR devices like the Microsoft Hololens produce overlays on the actual live video as seen through the lens of the user device; basically, you are seeing the real world. The user must understand using our approach that the obstacles and objects on the screen are not real time and they should not try to navigate based on the screen. They should just know directionally where the Capital Bikeshare stations are in relation to their position.
A related finding in the mobile app approach we took was that if a user gets too close to a location, the app may present an image of a location that is actually behind the user rather than in front. We think this is caused by the inaccuracy of GPS — the general rule of thumb for GPS accuracy is that it’s accurate from 5 to 8 meters outside of a target location. We plan to see if we can adjust the app for this idiosyncrasy of GPS. This may involve changing the UX of the overlay, so that it presents different metadata or imagery when the phone is very close to the desired location.
As AR becomes more commonplace the use of a mobile phone is not hands free and cumbersome. You need to hold the phone up and in the direction you want to move. With wearable AR kits your hands remain free. We also noticed that when using the app, the overlay is extremely sensitive and twitches. This is another indication of the difficulty of holding the phone but can potentially be overcome with some type of dampening.
Next Steps
As of right now, our app only relays the names of the stations closest to you and their distances. The next version will include more information such as how many bikes and open slots are at each station. We also want to make the overlays of stations change in size depending on proximity to the user. Lastly, as you can see from the pictures above, the UI of the overlay is a bit rough, so we will work on refining the visuals as well.
Look for more on this topic as we continue with our exploration. Also, feel free to write us with thoughts and ideas.
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