Empowering Instructors: Augmented Reality Authoring Toolkit for Aviation Weather Education

Abstract

This study introduces an augmented reality (AR) authoring tool tailored for flight instructors without technical expertise. While AR offers potential in aviation weather education and instructors desire to use it in the classroom, they face challenges due to limited digital proficiency and complexity of authoring tools. Many existing AR authoring tools prioritize technical aspects over user experience. To address these challenges, a no-programming-required AR authoring tool was developed based on instructor-informed requirements, such as incorporating features of flight waypoints and weather phenomena. A total of 41 participants tested the tool by crafting three AR learning modules. After using the tool, there was a significant increase in participants’ confidence in AR content creation (+30%), AR authoring process (+51%), and interactive AR development (+50%). In addition, there was a significant decrease in their concerns about technical complexity (–19%), mental effort (–30%), and time consumption (–30%). Participants rated the incorporated functions highly preferable and indicated the tool has high usability. Participants completed the most challenging task quickly and with a low cognitive load. The findings demonstrate the tool's effectiveness in enabling participants to competently and efficiently author AR content, reducing technical concerns. Such tools can facilitate the integration of AR technology into the classroom, offering students improved access to interactive 3-D visualizations of dynamic subjects, such as aviation weather, which require students to mentally visualize weather conditions and understand their manifestations.