Improvements in Augmented Reality Interface

Many improvements have been integrated in the augmented reality interface of the new version of the LibreGeoSocial Android client (1.2). The new visual interface design and the clicked object searching system can be seen in the following video.

Here is a brief explication of these new features. 

• Visual interface design:
  • Icons:
    • New background box that makes it easier to find the floating icons in the screen.
    • Image icon: nodes with image data (photo, video and user nodes) have their own icon, formed by its own image (active by default. This feature can be disabled from the preferences menu).
    • Three different icon sizes:
      • Small size for far-from-the-center objects.
      • Medium size for the other objects.
      • Big size for the clicked object.
    • The name of the node is now shown under its icon. This feature is configurable in its corresponding preference by selecting one of the following options (the name of the currently clicked node is shown in all cases):
      • No names: the name of the icons is not shown.
      • Central names: the name of the icons that belong to the central screen region is shown.
      • All names: the name of all icons is shown.
  • Rotating compass (configurable in the preferences menu).
  • New and more intuitive summary boxes:
    • Now, the fixed box has been implemented as a gallery that let us to navigate between the existing nodes through it.
    • The dinamic box incorporates two floating arrows that let us to navigate between the shown nodes.
    • In both cases, there are two new buttons to close the box and to see the details of the current node.
• Clicked object searching system: when a clicked object is not visible, this system helps the user finding it through an arrow that indicates him where to rotate the camera to do it (actived by default. Configurable in the preferences menu).
• Automatic opening of the summary box of the node that it's been pointed by the interface focus (disabled by default. Configurable in the preferences menu).
• Altitude status configurable: the system behaviour for the altitude data of the nodes is configurable from the preferences menu, selecting one of the following options:
  • No heights: all the nodes are drawn in the horizon line.
  • Existing heights (enabled by default): those nodes that contains altitude info are drawn considering it. Else, they are drawn at the horizon line.
  • All heights: the floor altitude of the nodes that don't have altitude info is requested using their geographic coordinates.
• Eficient nodes reloading system: now, the nodes list is only reloaded when we change our position manually, when we modify the searching distance, or when we label an object successfully.
• Background tasks: decrease the loading time that is necesary to show the requested info to the user, so the users' experience has been improved.
  • Images loading.
  • Altitude info loading.