The ar4wind project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action under grant number 03EE3046A‑D, ran from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2023 and was carried out by a consortium of EPC gGmbH, the Technical University of Berlin (HTW Berlin), the Wind Energy Agency (FA Wind) and LandPlan OS GmbH. The main aim was to develop and evaluate a mobile augmented‑reality (mAR) visualisation tool that supports public participation in wind‑energy planning. The consortium organised four on‑site test campaigns in Oederan (Saxony), Freigericht (Hesse), Bornheim (North Rhine‑West Phalia) and Gehrden (Lower Saxony). Approximately one hundred participants were surveyed through analogue and digital questionnaires, followed by telephone interviews. The data were analysed by FA Wind and discussed with the research partners, leading to an internal report circulated to the consortium in September 2022 that summarised early findings on the tool’s effectiveness, usefulness and potential applications in participatory processes.
The technical evaluation focused on user‑centric design and localisation accuracy. Early tests revealed that a simple, clear and comprehensible interface is crucial for a positive user experience. Consequently, the interface was redesigned to provide a step‑by‑step calibration procedure for device position and orientation, short usage instructions, and a streamlined set of core functions that omitted expert‑only features. Parallel internal tests assessed the GeoAR localisation and calibration methods, including reference‑point calibration, sky‑segmentation, 3D landscape model alignment and anchor‑based positioning. These experiments demonstrated that the calibration approach can be adapted to different field contexts, whether the tool is used ad‑hoc with mobile devices or for pre‑production of photographic and video material. The second test series highlighted that the success of the visualisation depends heavily on the specific context: the composition and size of the participant group, the procedural setting, and the need for thorough actor and conflict analysis before deployment.
Performance metrics were not explicitly quantified in the report, but the qualitative outcomes indicate that the mAR demonstrator improved participants’ spatial understanding of proposed wind‑energy sites and facilitated more informed discussion. The tool’s adaptability to various participatory settings was confirmed, and concrete recommendations were derived for its deployment in public engagement processes. These recommendations emphasise the importance of preparatory stakeholder analysis, context‑specific calibration, and a user‑friendly interface.
In terms of knowledge transfer, the consortium disseminated results through multiple channels. HTW Berlin presented the technical findings at national conferences such as the UIS Workshop 2022 and GeoForum MV 2022, and at international events including ICICT 2022 and GISTAM 2022. The Wind Energy Agency shared the outcomes with industry stakeholders at Husum Wind 2021 and WindEnergy Hamburg 2022, providing informational flyers and a feature article in the journal “neue energie.” Regular newsletters from FA Wind kept the broader professional community informed. The final project outputs include a comprehensive brochure and a video summarising the key results, both hosted on the project website www.ar4wind.de. The project’s successful coordination ensured that all objectives were met on schedule, and the consortium’s collaborative effort produced a practical, user‑validated mAR tool that enhances public participation in wind‑energy planning.