2020 Faculty Courses School of Computing Department of Computer Science Graduate major in Computer Science
Augmented Reality
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Computer Science
- Instructor(s)
- Yuta Itoh
- Class Format
- Lecture (Zoom)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 1-2 Mon (W833) / 1-2 Thu (W833)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- CSC.T439
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2020
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This unit is a practical course. Students will learn about the foundation of augmented reality (AR) including sensing technologies, human visual system, display technology, graphics rendering, and AR applications.
In this unit, we will alternate between lectures and exercises. In the lectures, we introduce the basics of AR together with other relevant technologies. In parallel with the learning of this basic knowledge, you learn AR in a hands-on manner through exercises. Through the exercises, you will implement a vision-based AR program from scratch (each exercise is a small piece for it). Each student or a small team of students must present a small AR project using the program in the final lecture. You also need to write a final report on the project.
Course description and aims
1) You can master the understanding of research background, design philosophy and composition principle of modern AR systems and advanced AR systems.
2) You can master the design and realization method of a typical AR system.
Keywords
Augmented reality, mixed reality, virtual reality, human visual system, tracking, head mounted display
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
We alternate lectures and project exercises. In the lectures, you learn the basic knowledge of AR. In the exercises, you implement a basic AR program and conduct the final project to develop your own small AR application. At the end of the course, you are expected to present the results of the project.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | [Basics 1] Introduction | Outline and aim of the lecture |
| Class 2 | [Hands-on 1] Image Processing 1 | The basics of image processing using OpenCV |
| Class 3 | [Basics 2] Human Visual System | The basics of the human visual system |
| Class 4 | [Hands-on 2] Image Processing 2 | Understand AR marker detection |
| Class 5 | [Basics 3] AR Displays | Display technology |
| Class 6 | [Hands-on 3] Image Processing 3 | AR marker identification |
| Class 7 | [Basics 4] Sensing | The position tracking technology in real space |
| Class 8 | [Hands-on 4] Image Processing 4 | AR marker coordinate calculation |
| Class 9 | [Basics 5] Visual Coherence | The technology to enhance the reality of AR images |
| Class 10 | [Hands-on 5] Graphics Rendering 1 | The basics of CG rendering using OpenGL |
| Class 11 | [Basics 6] Interaction | Interaction technology in AR space |
| Class 12 | [Hands-on 6] Graphics Rendering 2 | The basics of AR rendering |
| Class 13 | [Hands-on 7] Project progress check | Check the progress of projects |
| Class 14 | [Hands-on 8] Project presentation | Perform project presentation |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
No need to purchase textbooks
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Materials for the course will be provided online.
The lecture slides will mainly be based on:
- Dieter Schmalstieg, Tobias Hollerer, "Augmented Reality: Principles and Practice" Addison-Wesley, 2018
The exercise parts of this class are based on OpenCV and OpenGL (with GLFW). It is really important for students to go through tutorials on their own, such as these:
https://www.opencv-srf.com/p/introduction.html
https://learnopengl.com/Introduction
Evaluation methods and criteria
Project report (50%) and final presentation (50%)
Related courses
- CSC.T421 ： Human Computer Interaction
- ART.T463 ： Computer Graphics
Prerequisites
- Coding Experience (especially C/C++) | All exercises use C/C++ with OpenGL and OpenCV
- Linear Algebra | We will use matrix transpose, inverse, and other operations to do algebra with matrix expressions. We will also solve some linear equations. We’ll use transformation matrices to rotate/transform 3D models. These topics are important for the project.
- Basics of Computer Graphics and/or Computer Vision | We use model and viewpoint matrices for graphics rendering using OpenGL. We also use basic image operations such as edge detections though OpenCV. If you are a quick learner, you should be able to learn them during the class if you haven’t yet.
Other
You need a webcam. A camera on a laptop is sufficient.