This course gives students an opportunity to learn about "Mixed Reality" (MR) (and a specific subset of MR referred to as "Augmented Reality" (AR)) as a technology, a human-computer interaction paradigm, a social media, and an electronic medium. MR refers to computer systems that combine virtual content with the physical environment, allowing users to interact with these combined physical/virtual worlds in situ. Students will use various technologies (developed both here at Georgia Tech and elsewhere) to experiment with MR and AR, with a particular emphasis on the creation of mobile, social AR experiences.

Students will work in teams (with some combination of handheld devices, laptop computers, see-through displays, tracking devices, and sensors) to explore the potential of MR and AR as technologies, HCI paradigms and social media. Students with backgrounds in visual design, industrial design, architecture, video production, and visual storytelling are welcome, as are students with significant programming, HCI or computer graphics backgrounds. Above all, creative thinking with and through technology is the most important asset that students can bring to this course.

Students will work individually and in teams to create particular designs of MR/AR experiences, in which they will have to confront technical issues, user interface and usability issues, and cultural issues. Although much of the course time will be occupied with project work, we will also have discussions based on background reading, which will include literature on AR and VR technology as well as literature on the historical, aesthetic, social and cultural questions raised by these technologies.

This semester we will have one major project, which will happen in the second 2/3 of the semester. Each small team will design and prototype an outdoor, mobile AR experience that explores the potential of AR as a social, mobile medium.

The first half of the class will focus on lecture- and discussion-style presentations of various foundational material, mixed with some project pitches and assignments.  

All materials, assignments and discussion will use the Georgia Tech T-Square system.

There will be no exams.