Development and Deployment of Civilization Evolution AR: An AR-Based Historical Learning Platform for HoloLens

Augmented reality (AR) technology is steadily becoming a part of our daily lives. In this project, we have developed an AR adaptation of a desktop application, designed to work with HoloLens glasses, to create an immersive learning experience, allowing users to explore and gain deeper insights into the history of different countries. The software is currently under development, with the goal of offering an interactive platform for users to visualize the evolution of world civilizations over the centuries. The project discussed in this thesis is part of an existing educational application initiative developed by the Department of Control and Computer Engineering (DAUIN) at Politecnico di Torino using Unity. As development continues, the software will feature more interactive capabilities to further illustrate the historical progression of global civilizations. In the early stages of this project, two new scenarios, "1901-1950" and "1951-2000," were introduced. Each scenario includes thousands of historical events, greatly enriching the content and offering users a more comprehensive understanding of history. The primary objective of this thesis is to deploy the existing project functionalities onto the HoloLens (AR headset), enhancing both the user experience and practical engagement. After conducting in-depth research on the project and studying the relevant Hololens coding techniques, the migration and conversion of the project platform were gradually completed. By replacing mouse controls with gesture-based interactions and accurately detecting finger positions, the system now displays event information when a touch event is triggered, allowing users to engage with the virtual environment more intuitively. Additionally, zoom and rotation functions for the globe have been implemented, and the menu format has been optimized to improve the overall fluidity and user experience. The event information box is also fixed on the interface, ensuring that users can easily access important details at any time during interaction, enhancing both usability and the convenience of information retrieval. Through continuous testing, validation, and optimization, the project is being progressively refined. The project successfully achieved its intended goals, with the deployment to the Hololens platform now complete. This deployment not only enhanced the system's interactivity but also significantly improved the user's sense of immersion and operational experience within the virtual environment, laying a solid foundation for future optimizations and feature expansions. By leveraging the advanced capabilities of the Hololens platform, such as hand tracking and spatial awareness, the project has taken a significant step forward in offering an immersive and engaging experience. The enhanced interactivity allows users to explore complex historical events in greater depth and interact with the content in more meaningful ways. Additionally, the improvements in the system’s responsiveness and fluidity have greatly contributed to a more seamless user experience, laying the groundwork for future enhancements that can further enrich the educational potential of the software.