Engaging Students in Real-Time Geovisualizations through Augmented Reality: A NASA Mission Earth Project

GLOBE Mission EARTH is a collaborative of multiple institutions across the United States formed to increase involvement in the GLOBE Program (www.globe.gov). GLOBE Mission EARTH is funded by NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) #: NNX16AC54A. In addition to the members from our partner institutions, our group includes hundreds of other individuals including teachers, students and citizen scientists, located throughout the United States. Our mission is to improve education and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by increasing participation of students and citizens in the GLOBE Program (www.globe.gov).

The introduction of an Augmented Reality app, HoloGLOBE, can literally place real time data sets into the hands of teachers, students, and citizen scientists taking geovisualizations to a new level. HoloGLOBE is an evolving concept that utilizes the Merge Cube (Merge Labs, Inc.) to “blend” NOAA's Science on the Sphere (SOS) with the concept of Google Expeditions. Various SOS programs are being ported to HoloGLOBE. Combined with NASA and NOAA data visualizations and near-real time satellite imagery of our planet, users will be able to explore earth’s systems. Through additional expansion packs, currently under development, users will investigate global precipitation, surface temperatures, weather and more.

Planned for future release, users will virtually visit other parts of the world through participating in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) network of schools (www.globe.gov). HoloGLOBE is currently intended for K-12 students, teachers, and citizen scientists to learn about satellite remote sensing and earth systems. 3D panoramic views of GLOBE study sites are in the works and will be integrated into HoloGLOBE.

HoloGLOBE is envisioned to be a “mixed reality” node where participants post and share their interpretations of satellite imagery along with their own field observations with other participants worldwide. Participants will be introduced to 3D geovisualizations of NASA and NOAA datasets that allow for investigations and data displays by GLOBE students from around the planet through this new and emerging technology which holds dramatic potential in the study of the atmospheric and oceanographic sciences.