AR for Geology
Interactive 3D & AR for geology and earth science
Bring the outcrop into the classroom — rotate a hand sample, walk around a folded structure, place a core at scale, all from a browser.
Earth science depends on three-dimensional observation — the geometry of a fold, the texture of a hand sample, the structure of a fossil — but field access is seasonal, costly, and sometimes impossible. AcademicAR turns a scanned specimen or a photogrammetry model of an outcrop into an interactive viewer with augmented reality, so structure and texture can be examined from every side and placed at a workable scale.
Upload from GLB, OBJ, STL, or FBX and share a QR code in a field guide, lab manual, poster, or paper, so anyone can explore the specimen on a phone.
Why geology needs interactive 3D
Structure is spatial.
Folds, faults, and bedding relationships are obvious when you can turn the model; they're ambiguous in a single photo.
Extend the field season.
A scanned outcrop or sample is available to study and teach long after — and far from — the field site.
Standardise specimens.
Every student gets the same reference specimen to rotate and compare, regardless of what's in the teaching drawer.
How it works
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01
Upload your model
Drop in a GLB, STL, OBJ, or FBX file. It's converted and optimized for the web automatically.
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02
Get a viewer & QR code
You get an interactive 3D viewer with tap-to-place AR, a short link, and a permanent QR code.
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03
Share anywhere
Place the QR code on a slide, poster, handout, label, or paper — no app, no headset for your audience.
Ways geology teams use it
Field & lab teaching
Pair each station with a scanned hand sample students can rotate and zoom on their own device.
Structural geology papers
Show a folded or faulted structure as an interactive model so reviewers can assess the geometry.
Core & sample archives
Publish scanned cores and specimens with stable links for reference and citation.
Geology FAQ
Can I publish an outcrop photogrammetry model?
Yes. Export the textured mesh to GLB, OBJ, STL, or FBX; large models are compressed and optimized on upload so they load on phones.
Do textures and surface detail survive?
Baked textures and vertex colors in the GLB are preserved through conversion.
Can I set a real-world scale?
Yes — set a scale reference so a hand sample or core is placed at a realistic size in AR.
Will it run on a student's phone in the field?
Yes. The viewer runs in any modern mobile browser; an internet connection is all that's needed.
Can I cite the model?
Each model has a permanent link and QR code that survive replacement, so they're stable to cite.
Explore other fields
Publish your first geology model
Create a free account, upload a model, and share an interactive 3D & AR figure in minutes.