Simulation and Visualization of Fluid Flows Around Real Objects in Augmented Reality

Abstract

The long-term vision of augmented reality is to seamlessly integrate digital content into the real world, which provides new means to make physical processes visible that are usually invisible to the naked eye. One such example is the motion of air around us. With the help of a head-mounted augmented reality device, an interactive air flow simulation and the tracking of real-world objects, we develop a flow visualization tool box in which users interactively explore approximations of the real-world air flow around real objects. Since the flows respond dynamically to real-world objects, the influence of obstacle size and air flow speed on the creation and movement of vortices can be explored interactively using geometry-based flow visualization techniques, including pathlines and streaklines. We see our setup mainly used in an educational context or for science communication.