Virtual Marker Technique to Enhance User Interactions in a Marker-Based AR System

In marker-based augmented reality (AR) systems, markers are usually relatively independent and predefined by the system creator in advance. Users can only use these predefined markers to complete the construction of certain specified content. Such systems usually lack flexibility and cannot allow users to create content freely. In this paper, we propose a virtual marker technique to build a marker-based AR system framework, where multiple AR markers including virtual and physical markers work together. Information from multiple markers can be merged, and virtual markers are used to provide user-defined information. We conducted a pilot study to understand the multi-marker cooperation framework based on virtual markers. The pilot study shows that the virtual marker technique will not significantly increase the user’s time and operational burdens, while actively improving the user’s cognitive experience.