Rheumatosphere AR: Public Engagement and Education with Interactive Print Posters

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects around 1% of the UK population, places a heavy burden on society and has severe consequences for the individuals affected. Early diagnosis and treatment significantly increase the chance of long-term sustained remission. Raising awareness of RA amongst the general public is important to help decrease the time of diagnosis of the disease. In this poster and demo we explore the use of Augmented Reality (AR) in the creation of interactive print posters for public engagement. Previous studies have shown that AR can be effective in a teaching and learning context, where the coexistence of real and virtual objects aids learners in understanding abstract ideas and complicated spatial relationships. It has also been suggested that it raises motivation in users through interactivity and novelty. We explore the use of AR in public engagement, and outline the design, development and evaluation of an engagement experience utilising AR. For this, a set of informative printed posters was produced and these enhanced by an accompanying interactive AR application. Evaluation involved participants at a science outreach event at the Glasgow Science Centre. The poster includes a demo of the public engagement application: Rheumatosphere AR.