Development and Experimental Evaluation of a Smartphone-Based Mixed Reality Gun Simulator

Abstract

Mixed Reality (MR) has gained increasing attention in simulation and training because it enables immersive interaction between virtual and physical environments. However, many existing MR systems rely on expensive head-mounted displays and dedicated tracking hardware, limiting their accessibility for educational and proof-of-concept research. This study aims to develop and experimentally evaluate a low-cost smartphone-based MR gun simulator operating in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) modes. Its novelty lies in integrating consumer-grade hardware into a unified MR platform that supports immersive interaction at an affordable cost. The prototype integrates a smartphone, a custom handheld controller, embedded sensing, computer vision, and a real-time simulation environment. Experimental evaluation examined crosshair mapping accuracy, response latency, system frame rate performance, and AR object detection reliability. Results show that the prototype achieved acceptable interaction accuracy, responsive real-time performance, stable rendering in both VR and AR modes, and reliable object detection throughout the evaluation. These findings demonstrate that affordable smartphone-based MR systems can provide sufficient performance for proof-of-concept research and educational applications, establishing a practical foundation for developing immersive training and human-computer interaction systems.