Virtual Booth

Abstract for Project

The ARmazing Race: An Augmented Reality Adventure Game for Language Learning and Beyond

The ARmazing Race is a UTARRF-funded research initiative that combines augmented reality (AR) technology with adventure-based learning to enhance student engagement and English language proficiency. Designed as a team activity, the game integrates language-based quizzes, general knowledge questions, puzzles, and physical challenges at checkpoints. These activities encourage English conversation, collaboration, and problem-solving while improving essential skills in listening, reading, vocabulary, and communication.

This project addresses the challenge of motivating low-performing secondary school students, who often struggle with conventional classroom methods. By embedding learning within an immersive and gamified environment, the ARmazing Race makes language learning enjoyable, contextualised, and interactive. Its innovative approach fosters not only language skills but also teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity, benefitting students and communities at large.

Cost-effectiveness is achieved through the use of readily available mobile devices, while the reusable game design allows for scalability across schools and educational contexts. Beyond the classroom, the ARmazing Race demonstrates strong commercialisation potential. In education, it can align with school curricula for language, history, or STEM learning. In tourism and cultural heritage, it offers location-based experiences such as historical site quests in partnership with museums and tourism boards. For corporations, it can be adapted into dynamic team-building and onboarding simulations. It also promotes wellness and fitness through real-world exploration with a narrative-driven twist, and retail spaces can leverage it for interactive scavenger hunts and product placement quests.

The ARmazing Race is more than a game; it is a versatile platform for learning, engagement, and discovery — where imagination meets reality.