How to Use Augmented Reality for Interactive Campus Tours?

• By Ava Davis
• 04-03-2024
• Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is a contemporary technology that superimposes digital records and pix onto our view of the actual global. As AR continues advancing, faculties and universities can leverage it to create one-of-a-kind interactive campus tours for prospective college college students.

These immersive, virtual excursions allow college students to explore campus homes, landmarks, and centers proper from their homes. By merging digital additives with a physical environment, AR tours showcase your campus in an interesting new format that goes ways beyond static snapshots or plain video.

In this guide, we’ll explain what AR campus tours are, their benefits, and how to create your own unique tour experience boosted by AR technology.

What Are AR Campus Tours?

An augmented reality campus tour utilizes mobile devices or wearables like AR glasses to overlay contextual digital information onto a camera view of the college grounds in real time.

As students walk through campus using the AR app, the software tracks their location via GPS and maps out campus attractions around them. Students lift their phones or look around, and floating labels, 3D models, photos, or videos will appear overlaid on the actual school buildings.

Tapping on a floating label might open a video showcasing a dorm room while looking at the cafeteria entrance triggers an info box about meal plans. Some AR tours even incorporate gamification by adding scavenger hunt elements or quests to complete across campus.

Benefits of Using AR for Campus Tours

AR tours provide significant benefits over traditional tours, photos, or simple videos when recruiting prospective students. The top advantages include:

• Interactive and immersive experience - Students can actively explore campus hotspots, interior spaces, and info on facilities or student life. This creates excitement and deeper engagement.
• Accessibility - Students anywhere can take the interactive tour without traveling, overcoming geographical barriers to recruitment.
• Integration with school software - The AR experience can integrate with existing online school management software, profile portals, or admin platforms to enable unified access.
• Cost-effective - Developing AR tours is far more affordable than relying solely on in-person recruitment events and tours. The tours can also be updated easily.
• Data collection - Usage analytics from the AR tours provide insightful data on prospective student interests, content interaction, and conversion rates.
• Viral marketing potential - AR tours stand out as innovative, prompting shares on social media.
• Reinforce brand image - Blending AR with real environments emphasizes your facilities and culture.

When paired with additional content like campus history or student testimonials, the AR experience paints a detailed, authentic picture of life at your university.

Key Steps to Implement an AR Campus Tour

Modern AR software leverages advanced technologies like plane detection, environmental understanding, occlusion, and motion tracking to integrate virtual assets into the real world. Here’s an overview of how campus AR tours function:

1. Map out tour hotspots and locations

Determine the key campus buildings, facilities, outdoor hotspots, and other locations to feature on the tour. Prioritize those most attractive to prospective students based on surveys or past feedback.

2. Develop interactive 3D models

Create detailed 3D environments of highlighted locations using photogrammetry, drones, or 3D modeling software. Interior spaces should showcase key details prospective students care about.

3. Add hotspot details and multimedia

For each virtual tour hotspot, add specific details on what the area offers students. This includes images, videos, faculty profiles, student testimonials, or even full 360 photography within buildings.

4. Build AR functionality

Using platforms like Unity or Vuforia, program the ability to scan tour trigger images or objects and launch the corresponding interactive 3D environment complete with hotspot details.

5. Promote the tour access links

Feature links to launch the AR tour prominently on your school’s website, recruitment portals, or student orientation platforms. Distribute links to tour access across outreach channels.

6. Analyze tour analytics

Review metrics on tour usage, interactions, drop-off rates, and device data. Identify the most popular stopovers and interactives to improve. Poll users for direct feedback to guide enhancements.

GPS is also commonly employed to activate location-specific AR content. As the user moves closer to landmarks across campus, the relevant virtual assets spawn around them contextually based on location data.

Development Options

There are two primary options to build your AR campus experience: work with a developer to build a custom tour app, or use an AR creation platform that doesn’t require coding expertise.

Custom Tour App

A developer builds a personalized, branded AR app from scratch specifically for your campus and assets. This offers the most flexibility and customization but also demands more time, developer resources, and expense.

AR Creation Platform

Intuitive SaaS platforms like Augmania or Threedy.ai make it easy for non-developers to create AR tours themselves. These tools provide preloaded 3D assets and let you map tours via easy-to-use interfaces rather than code. While less customizable, creation platforms simplify tour publishing across devices and keep costs down.

AR tours built with online school management software also allow admins to update AR content from a centralized CMS dashboard. This lets you tweak points of interest, swap assets, or add location markers without needing developer help.

AR Tour Ideas and Best Practices

When designing your university’s AR campus tour, keep these creative ideas and best practices in mind:

Premium mobile support

Given tours work via smartphones, ensure a responsive design and flawless mobile optimization.

Emerging tech compatibility

Support ARKit, ARCore, or alternatives so tours run smoothly across iOS and Android.

Personalization

Match branding, designs, content, and AR visuals to your school’s unique personality, culture, and facilities.

Contextual assets

Place relevant AR assets around real campus settings for an authentic view of student life.

Interactive elements

Make assets clickable, movable, or enhanced by mini-games for added engagement.

Updated content

Use a centralized CMS so admins can instantly edit points of interest and content without an app update.

Behind-the-scenes views

Show off exclusive areas prospects couldn’t typically access like dorm rooms or labs.

Gamification

Applying gaming principles via badges, streaks, scavenger hunts, or quests incentivizes full tour completion.

Social sharing

Let visitors share tour screenshots or recordings on social media to increase viral exposure.

Accessibility

Ensure any videos feature closed captioning while text contradicts backgrounds.

User testing

Conduct student focus groups to guide iterations and modifications for maximum relatability.

Standalone or integrated

Offer tours as a standalone app or incorporate them into your primary university app.

Using these tips and methodologies, colleges and universities can produce campus tours that impress and engage prospective applicants via the immersive power of augmented reality.

Update content quarterly to keep it fresh each season

By making campus tours exciting, and interactive adventures, AR technology can take your student recruitment strategy to the next level. Integrating these tours with existing online school management software solidifies it as part of a modern, tech-focused institution.

Platforms for Developing AR Campus Tours

• Unity: Industry-leading platform for 3D content and AR; robust developer community and resources.
• Vuforia: Leading AR software development kit (SDK) for mobile apps; advanced capabilities like object recognition
• Unreal Engine: Powerful real-time 3D creation tools used by leading game and AR developers
• ARCore: Google’s AR SDK for Android apps and devices; enables motion tracking and environmental understanding
• ARKit: Apple’s built-in AR toolkit for iOS apps and devices; easy integration for Apple users
• Wikitude: End-to-end AR development software with hosting and sharing capabilities baked-in
• Zappar: Browser-based AR creation needing only a camera; great for quick launch WebAR tours

Conclusion

Interactive AR tours help your university stand out while addressing remote student recruitment challenges in a modern fashion. Blending UI elements with a camera view of campus builds anticipation for in-person attendance better than standard materials can accomplish alone.

Configuring an AR creation platform based on location mapping, triggers, and custom content generation takes campus visits into another dimension. Enhanced tours capture user attention, reinforce branding, ease decision anxieties, and inspire social shares. Just don’t forget crucial practices like ensuring broad device compatibility, matching styles to your existing assets, optimizing updates and content from one online school management software CMS, and playtesting with real student focus groups.

With AR technology progressing each year, now is the time to infuse your college’s next generation of campus tours with immersive augmented overlays. When powered the right way, AR gives prospects an authentic glimpse into campus life well before they set foot on university grounds.

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about AR campus tours:

1. How much does it cost to develop an AR tour?

Costs vary based on the complexity of your tour but expect to invest around $15,000-$30,000 to start for a multi-building tour with interactive hotspots. Updates or additions down the road are cheaper.

2. What devices do students need to access AR tours?

Most AR tours will require a smartphone or tablet, along with instructions to download a certain app for full functionality. However, some platforms support WebAR accessed directly from browsers.

3. Should AR tours replace in-person campus visits?

No, AR tours should complement but not replace coming to campus once admitted. However, these tours are invaluable to driving interest and enabling access when in-person visits are limited by distance or scheduling.

4. How can you update and manage content once launched?

Look for AR software with built-in or closely integrated content management systems. You want to be able to swap out profiles, images, testimonials, etc effortlessly. Integrations with online school software also ease centralized changes.

5. What security risks are there with AR tours?

Conduct extensive testing before launch and implement cybersecurity measures for any first-party mobile apps powering tours. Monitor for issues reported with camera/data access or calls to external domains. Keep software regularly updated.