ARCoins. An Augmented Reality App for Learning about Numismatics

Abstract

Museum visitors need support tools to facilitate their informal learning. In this paper, we present ARCoins, an augmented reality app to support informal learning about numismatics. Our app helps museum visitors to read the deteriorated text of coins and also shows additional information that offers a clear idea of the general meaning of the coinage of the coins. The app recognizes the real coins. We carried out a study to determine the potential of the app. A total of twenty-eight subjects between 19 and 65 years old participated in the study. The participants observed the real coins using ARCoins and a magnifying glass. From the results, ARCoins allows the participants to read the deteriorated text and even observe the most imperceptible details of the coins. There were statistically significant differences for reading the text when the participants used ARCoins and the magnifying glass in favour of ARCoins. The participants preferred ARCoins for a more enriching museum experience. ARCoins could be a valuable AR app for informal learning about numismatics in museums.