Course Outline
DES308 Augmented Reality Design
Course Coordinator:Jesse Clements (jclement@usc.edu.au) School:School of Business and Creative Industries
2026Semester 1
UniSC Sunshine Coast |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
To design and work effectively with Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality/Mixed Reality (AR/VR/MR) interfaces, you will need to understand fundamental principles of the medium and practice applying them to designs. Beginning with a historical overview of augmented reality, you will learn about display technologies, tracking methods, spatial audio, interaction types and design paradigms. You will create your first augmented reality experience on day one and will use the latest technologies to design and develop a series of original experiences throughout the course.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Laboratory 1 – On campus laboratory for 12 weeks (or equivalent). | 3hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Online | |||
| Online – 3 hours online content for 12 weeks (or equivalent). | 3hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
Course Topics
- VR/AR History
- VR/AR Experiences
- VR/AR Technologies
- AR Tracking and Designing for the Real World
- Immersion, Presence and Virtual Narrative
- Content Creation Platforms
- VR/AR Interaction
- Zapworks Studio
What level is this course?
300 Level (Graduate)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Demonstrate a critical understanding of the history of Mixed Reality AR/VR/MR | Knowledgeable |
| 2 | Identify fundamental building blocks of MR applications | Knowledgeable |
| 3 | Deconstruct an Augmented Reality application | Knowledgeable |
| 4 | Develop a professional specification document to summarise client requirements for an AR/VR/MR project | Empowered |
| 5 | Justify estimates of time and material requirements for an AR/VR/MR project | Empowered |
| 6 | Demonstrate proficiency Zapworks and web frameworks (A-Frame/AR.js) | Empowered |
| 7 | Produce a working prototype AR/VR/MR app | Engaged |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
Not applicable
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
Microcredential Information
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
Formative Feedback: discussion in tutorial Week1 to Week 3
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Essay | Individual | 25% | 1000 words |
Week 4 | Online Submission |
| All | 2 | Report | Individual | 25% | 1000 words |
Week 9 | Online Submission |
| All | 3 | Artefact - Creative, and Written Piece | Group | 50% | Project + 1500 words |
Week 13 | Online Submission |
| All - Assessment Task 1:The History and Future of AR | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | You will develop an in-depth critical understanding of the historical roots of AR/VR/MR design and where the industry is heading in the future. |
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| Product: | Essay | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | This is a short and sharp essay demonstrating your ability to critically evaluate historical trends in AR and the evolution of these trends into modern day applications. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Industry Report | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | You will learn how to list and evaluate AR/VR display technologies, tracking methodologies and creation tools in order to bring a project to market. |
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| Product: | Report | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | 1000-word report in two sections. Choose an AR/VR implementation (with instructor approval).The first section is targeted towards developers/engineers to describe the technical requirements to be met.The second section is targeted towards management, listing the software and hardware requirements as well as the benefits to clients. More information on the format of this report is available on Blackboard. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 3:Project and Post-Project Evaluation Report | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | Implement an AR/VR advertising campaign or software product using the technologies learned in class. Choose any of the introduced software suites to produce a useable product. This assessment has two parts, a project proposal to be approved by the instructor, and the actual final assessable project artefact. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Creative, and Written Piece | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | 2 elements - Project proposal - Software product or advertisement (Choose from Layar, Zapworks or Unity) |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
Specific requirements
Nil
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct.Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate: - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
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- Email:studentcentral@usc.edu.au