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In augmented reality applications it is essential to know the position and orientation of the user to correctly register virtual 3D content in the user’s field of view. For this purpose, visual tracking through simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is often used. However, when applied to the commonly occurring situation where the users are mostly stationary, many methods presented in previous research have two key limitations. First, SLAM techniques alone do not address the problem of global localization with respect to prior models of the environment. Global localization is essential in many applications where multiple users are expected to track within a shared space, such as spectators at a sporting event. Secondly, these methods often assume significant translational movement to accurately reconstruct and track from a local model of the environment, causing challenges for many stationary applications. In this paper, we extend recent research on Spherical Localization and Tracking to support relocalization after tracking failure, as well as global localization in large shared environments, and optimize the method for operation on mobile hardware. We also evaluate various state-of-the-art localization approaches, the robustness of our visual tracking method, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our system in real-life scenarios. 

In this paper we describe a virtual reality training simulation designed to help police officers learn use of force policies. Our goal is to test a training simulation prototype by measuring improvements to presence and performance. If successful, this can lead to creating a full-scale virtual reality narrative training simulation. The simulation uses a planner-based experience manager to determine the actions of agents other than the participant. Participants’ actions were logged, physiological data was recorded, and the participants filled out questionnaires. Player knowledge attributes were authored to measure participants’ understanding of teaching materials. We demonstrate that when participants interact with the simulation using virtual reality they experience greater presence than when using traditional screen and keyboard controls. We also demonstrate that participants’ performance improves over repeated sessions.