Development of an augmented reality food application for hawker centres

• Main Author: Tiang, Kristi Jia Wei
• Other Authors: Gwee Bah Hwee
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Engineering; Augmented reality
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/177044
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

AR advertising has been a rising trend in promoting one’s business. It is a fast-growing global market, expected to be valued at USD 597 billion by 2030. Many businesses in the food industry have since tapped into AR technology to enhance consumer experience. In Singapore, the food industry contributes to 0.8% of the country’s GDP and 4.5% of the total workforce. Hawker centres form a large proportion of Singapore’s food industry, making them an integral part of the Singaporean culture and history. With rapid technological advances, digital support efforts have been introduced to help the less digitally savvy hawkers stay relevant and onboard more online platforms for their businesses. However, these efforts are still insufficient to aid hawkers gain a competitive edge. This project pertains to the development of an AR food application for hawker centres in Singapore. The purpose of this report is to document the project’s progress and achievements up to date, as well as the challenges faced during the process. This report also documents the future of this project. This project aims to tap into the large potential of AR technology, to design and develop an interactive food application for consumers in hawker centres. This application also serves as a platform for consumers to explore food recommendations and homemade recipes. Based on the user research conducted for this project, it has been found that 89.5% of participants believe that a menu with images would greatly help with their decision to purchase food from a particular hawker stall. As such, the key feature of this application will be an AR Menu, which provides consumers with 3D visual representation of food menu items. This report is 103 pages in length including the cover page, table of contents, abstract, references and appendixes.