Spatial adventure: An augmented reality system for children's spatial skills training

Abstract

Spatial ability is recognized as an important component of children's intelligence and plays an important role in all areas. Despite the importance and potential utility of spatial ability for children, the development of spatial ability within the primary classroom has often been neglected. Moreover, little research has been conducted to propose a systematic theoretical model for intervention training of children's spatial abilities. In addition, many of the current spatial ability trainings mainly rely on two-dimensional visual space, and there is still a need to further expand the design of intervention systems in three-dimensional visual space. In this paper, we explore a spatial cognition intervention method for children based on augmented reality technology, and design and develop an implementation of this approach in a system we call Spatial Adventure. Containing five major game levels, it comprehensively covers the training content of five spatial sub-elements: mental rotation, spatial relations, spatial visualization, spatial perception, and spatial orientation. Finally, the effectiveness of this method on children's spatial ability enhancement is verified through experiments.