By Dr Naser Zamani

Augmented Reality (AR) offers diverse opportunities for agricultural extension, education, and smart farms by seamlessly blending virtual content with the real world. This integration can occur through mobile phones and head-mounted displays or smart glasses, enhancing the physical environment with valuable digital information. Differentiating from Virtual Reality (VR), which immerses users in a completely virtual world, AR improves the real world. Mixed Reality (MR) is when virtual and real environments mix and interact with each other. The term Extended Reality (XR) serves as an umbrella encompassing AR, VR, and MR.

The adoption of AR in agricultural extension and education brings numerous advantages, including heightened interactivity, increased engagement, improved access to experts through remote collaboration, digital enrichment with reduced reliance on print materials, data generation for evaluation and monitoring, elevated excitement through gamification, multi-sensory and immersive experiences, mobile accessibility, and compatibility with IoT, 5G, AI, and digital twins.

Below, we explore various AR methods and tools for agricultural extension, education, and smart farming. These tools and methods were initially presented as augmented reality extension tools and methods by the author at the 2023 Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN) international conference held in Launceston, Australia.

AR-enabled print materials: Traditional print materials are enhanced with AR features, making them interactive communication channels. For instance, an agricultural magazine with AR content can showcase videos of farming techniques, interviews with experts, or interactive 3D models of innovative agricultural machinery. To learn more about a case study where we used AR to assist Yakult's audience in activating an educational poster using their mobile phones, click HERE.

AR-assisted demonstrations: AR helps organise virtual farm demonstrations or improve traditional in-person Method Demonstration and Result Demonstration. These methods are based on the fact that farmers like to see how a new idea works and also what effect it can have on increasing their crop production, and AR adds extra layers of information on the physical real world and allows users to see things in an immersive and unique way. Click HERE to explore a case study where we utilised AR to illustrate the traditional method of gold mining in the West Wyalong region.

Social Media AR Ads: Integrating AR camera effects into mobile ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram enhances campaign performance. From 360 personalised farm visits to gamified learning experiences, social media AR ads create interactive and engaging content for awareness and education purposes. Click HERE to read about our award-winning government-funded project, where we utilised social media AR ads to engage parents and educate children about road safety using gamified learning experiences.

Virtual extension agents: Virtual extension agents, whether human-like avatars or computer-generated, offer personalised advice on crop management, pest control, and irrigation. Equipped with AI tools, they provide sophisticated solutions where individual expertise falls short, enhancing accessibility to expert guidance.

AR storytelling: AR storytelling takes storytelling to the next level. In agriculture, AR storytelling can immerse users in a crop's lifecycle, illustrating growth stages and best practices. Users can interact with virtual representations of pests or diseases, enhancing their understanding.

Contextual information: AR provides real-time contextual information, aiding farmers in making informed decisions. An AR app can overlay weather forecasts, soil conditions, and crop-specific data when pointed at a field, facilitating better decision-making regarding irrigation, harvesting, and pest control.

AR remote assistance: AR remote assistance offers real-time guidance. Farmers facing crop issues can share live video feeds with agricultural experts, who provide virtual annotations and instructions, facilitating remote troubleshooting and support.

AR technology visualisation: AR visualises complex agricultural technologies, allowing users to understand precision farming equipment intricately. It provides detailed and interactive insights into the inner workings of agricultural machinery and processes.

AR collaboration platforms: AR collaboration platforms enable stakeholders to interact with 3D models and virtual content. Agricultural researchers, extension agents, and farmers across different locations can collaborate, discuss scenarios, and enhance overall efficiency and interactivity.

AR gamified learning experiences: AR gamified learning experiences engage and educate farmers. Educational apps gamify learning about sustainable farming practices, allowing users to interact with virtual challenges, earn rewards, and apply acquired knowledge to improve their virtual farms.

AR-enabled digital twins: AR digital twins offer a virtual representation augmented with real-time data. In agriculture, they can be created for crops, machinery, or entire fields, providing a dynamic and interactive mirror for awareness and education, monitoring, analysis, and other purposes. For instance, AR digital twins can be utilised to simulate smart farms, enabling farmers to understand the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and their contributions to agriculture.