Landscape through graphic representation: Augmented Reality as a tool for interpretation

Within a sociocultural context where visual components are becoming increasingly important and new technologies are spreading, geography must adapt to new demands, avoid trivialization in the use of images, and approach the task of creating graphic elements based on an effective and rigorous transmission of knowledge. Considering Augmented Reality as an advantageous technology due to the interactive, self-guided and dynamic nature of its tools, this research seeks to prove its effectiveness and determine the main benefits derived from its application in the representation of landscapes. The methodology takes as its starting point basic graphic materials, most of which are already known in landscape studies. Procedures based on new computer techniques are applied to these materials in order to obtain digital resources compatible with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. These resources can be integrated into more complex tools that help explain the composition and dynamics of landscapes. Thus, the figures presented in this article are accompanied by a web link and also incorporate a hyperlink, so that by clicking on them, the aforementioned resources are accessed. And those figures with the Observatorio del Territorio (OT) logo are image markers in themselves that allow Augmented Reality content to be opened on devices. The results are obtained by testing various forms of multimedia representation in the context of an R&D project with application in various urban, rural and natural areas of the Principality of Asturias. These are hosted on the server of the Observatorio del Territorio at the University of Oviedo. The conclusions indicate the beneficial use of dynamic sequences (animations, sliders…) for a better understanding of diachronic changes; the interactive third dimension for the representation of complex elements; or the general added value of combining information on media (audio, video, 360º panoramas, etc.) in the understanding of shapes and structures.