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8/3/2019 Cooper, Daniel:User and Design Perspectives of Mobile Augmented Reality
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USERANDDESIGNPERSPECTIVESOFMOBILEAUGMENTEDREALITY
ATHESIS
SUBMITTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
INPARTIALFULFILLMENTOFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREE
MASTEROFARTS
BY
DANIELCOOPER
BALLSTATEUNIVERSITY
ADVISOR:JENNIFERGEORGE-PALILONIS
MAY2011
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ABSTRACT
AugmentedRealityisoneofthehottesttrendsinmobilemedia,yetthereisa
substantiallackofuserstudieswithinthisfieldofresearch.Thepurposeofthis
studyistoevaluatethevalueofmobileaugmentedrealityasavehiclefor
informationdeliveryonthebasisofausabilityanddesignanalysis.Usingamulti-
dimensionalqualitativemethod,thisstudyexaminestheimpressionsofusersand
designersregardingmobileaugmentedreality,alongwithaheuristicevaluationof
selectmobileapplications.Thisanalysisfindsthat(1)usersbelievemobile
augmentedrealityoffersgreatpromiseasamediumforvisualcommunication,and
(2)itscurrentexecutionislimitedbytechnicalrestraints,designflawsandalackof
compellingcontent.Itisconcludedthatmobileaugmentedrealitywilloneday
revolutionizehowconsumersengagegeographicalandtime-basedinformation.Yet,
likeallnewtechnologies,mobileaugmentedrealityneedstimetomatureinorderto
addresstheselimitations.Finally,basedonthefindingsofthisstudy,thisthesis
offerssuggestedguidelinesforfuturedevelopmentsinthismedium.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Agreatdealofthanksisduetomythesiscommittee.Myadvisor,Jennifer
George-Palilonisprovidedinvaluableguidanceandsupporttowardthecompletion
ofthisstudy.Herpassionforexcellenceandunwaveringsupportsheshowstoward
herstudentshasprofoundlyinfluencedmyprofessionalcareer.Iwouldalsoliketo
thankJamesChesebroandMichaelHolmeswhoroutinelychallengedmetoexamine
myworkwithacutecriticismandcuriosity.Theirconstructivefeedbackwasboth
invaluableandenlightening.
SpecialthanksisalsoduetomycolleaguesattheCenterforMediaDesign,
particularlyMichellePriebandJenniferMilkswhograciouslyallowedmethe
opportunitytobouncemethodologicalideasoffthemwhenthisstudyfirsttook
shape.ThanksarealsoduetoAngieFallerandShawnaPiersonforassistingwiththe
videographyanddocumentationofthefocusgroupsandfieldresearch.
Finally,Ithankmyparticipantsfortakingthetimetosharetheirexperiences.
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TABLEOFCONTENTS
Abstract.........................................................................................................................................................iiAcknowledgements.......................................... ............................................ ...........................................iii
Chapter1:Introduction......................................... ............................................. ....................................1
DefiningAugmentedReality........................................ ............................................ ..............5ResearchQuestions................................................................................................................11SignificancetotheField......................................... ............................................ ...................11
Chapter2:ReviewoftheLiterature........................................ ............................................ ...........12
History..........................................................................................................................................13ConsumerMobileAugmentedRealityApplications....................................... ...........15DevelopmentConcernsandLimitations....................................... .................................17Thecurrentstateofuserresearchandevaluations...................................... ...........20Apotentialsolution.................................................................................................................21
Chapter3:ResearchMethods............................................ ............................................ ...................26
DataCollectionandProcedures......................................... ............................................ ....31EthicalConsiderations..........................................................................................................34
Chapter4:Results..................................................................................................................................35
FirstImpressions......................................................................................................................36UserExperiencesandFeedback........................................................................................41HeuristicEvaluations..............................................................................................................47
Chapter5:Discussion...........................................................................................................................58
GuidelinesforFutureMobileAugmentedRealityApplications..........................63Limitations.................................................................................................................................65RecommendationsforFutureResearch....................................... .................................67
References.................................................................................................................................................71AppendixA:FocusGroupDiscussionGuideProtocol......................................... ...................75AppendixB:DesignerPerceptionsQuestionnaire........................................ ..........................77AppendixC:HeuristicEvaluationProtocol...............................................................................78
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CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTION
Mobileaugmentedrealityisadisruptivetechnologythatisredefininghow
peopleperceivedatabytransformingthevisualenvironmentintoanimmersive,
information-basedecosystem.Byblendingourworldwithvirtuality,augmented
realitycanenhancetheperceptionofonespersonalspacebyoverlayingdigital
informationintheformoftext,video,audioandotherformsofimagery.
Geographicalandtime-basedinformationhasbeenmaderelevanttotheunique
perspectiveofindividualusers,simplythroughthepushofabuttonononescell
phone.
However,inordertorealizethefullpotentialofmobileaugmentedreality,
thereisfundamentalneedforunderstandinghowusersengageandperceive
augmentedrealitycontent.Mostresearchwithinthefieldiscurrentlyfocusedon
thetechnologicalstateoftheart,incontrasttosubstantialuserstudies.
Furthermore,avaluablemeansforevaluatingtheeffectivenessofmobile
augmentedrealityapplicationsabilitytodeliverinformationinaclearandconcise
wayisalsorequired.
Tothatend,aconciseunderstandingofhowinformationshouldbedesigned
foranaugmentedrealitysystemisparamountforcreatingadesirableuser
experience.Ifaugmentedrealityistobecomeacommercialsuccess,designersand
developersalikeneedtounderstandtheneedsoftheiruserbasesandestablish
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fundamentaldesignprinciplesinordertoprovevaluefordisplayinginformation
overmoretraditionalmeans.
Thisthesispositsthatausabilityanddesignanalysisofaugmentedrealityis
bothfeasibleanduseful,andperhapsprovidesaconceptionofvalueformobile
augmentedrealityasavehicleforthevisualcommunicationofpersonallyrelevant
information.
StatementoftheProblem
MobileAugmentedRealityisstrugglingtofinditsniche.Marketersare
bankingonitshypebyfusingthisnewtechnologywithtradingcards,cerealboxes
andmovieposterswhiledozensofmobiledevelopersareinvestingontheirhopes
thataugmentedrealityappwillbecomethenextbigthing(Hurley,2009;Husson,
2010).Yet,mobileaugmentedrealityhasmanyproblemstoovercomeifitisto
becomeacommercialsuccess.Technicalissuessuchasslownetworkspeedsand
informationdisplayerrorscontinuetoplagueusers(Haller,Billinghurst&Thomas,
p.26).Italsoremainstobeseenhowaugmentedrealitycanbeusedtosolvereal-
worldproblemsratherthanservesimplyasamarketinggimmick.Ifsolutionsto
technicalconstraintsandpracticalbenefitsforconsumersarenotrealized,
augmentedrealitycouldmeetthesamefateasotheroverhypedtechnologies,such
asvirtualrealityworldslikeSecondLife(Wen,2010).Whileaugmentedrealitymay
benextbigthingjustasvirtualworldsoncewere,tomorrowitcouldfadeinto
obscurityduetoalackofconsumerinterest.
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Nevertheless,thecommercialsectorseespotentialbusinessinaugmented
reality.AccordingtomarketprojectionsbyJuniperResearch,revenuesfrommobile
augmentedrealityapplicationswillreach$732millionby2014.However,the
currentuserbaseconsistsprimarilyofearlyadopters,ademographicconsistingof
trendsetterswhoareeagertotryoutnewtechnologiesbeforetheirpeers,despite
existinglimitations(Rogers,1962).Additionally,thisuserpoolisrathersmall
consideringthenumberofexistingsmartphoneusers.AccordingtoMashable.com,
ofthe83%ofAmericanswhoownacellphone,only25%aresmartphoneusers
(Schroder,2010).Furthermore,accordingtoresearchbyNielson,athirdofallsmart
phoneusersdonotsubscribetoadataplan,whichisanecessaryrequirementfor
operatingaugmentedrealitybasedapps(Nielson,2010).
Furthermore,themostpopularaugmentedrealityappshaveonlyrealized
limitedisdistribution.Asof2010,themostdownloadedaugmentedrealityapp,
Layarhasauserbaseofonemillionactiveusers.MeaiosJunaioisadistantsecond,
havingbeendownloadedonlyhalfamilliontimes(Bryne,2010).
Notonlyaretherealimitednumberofusers;wealsoknowlittleaboutthem.
Mostresearchwithintheindustryisfocusedontheadvancementofaugmented
realitytechnologiesandsoftwareapplications,ratherthanontheuserexperience.
Inacademia,understandingtheproblemofhowusersperceiveaugmentedreality
contenthasbeenvirtuallyignored.Asof2010,onlyahandfulofusabilitytestshave
beenconducted,mostofwhichhavebeeninformal.(Schmalstiegetal.)Norhavethe
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opinionsofusersonthedesirabilityandviabilityofexistingmobileaugmented
realityapplicationsbeenaddressed.
Thislackofuserresearch,combinedwithtechnologicallimitationsofcurrent
augmentedrealitysystems,isprovidinguniquechallengesforcontentdesignersand
developersalike.PeterMeier,CTOofMetaioexplainedina2010interviewwith
VetureBeat,thatcurrentuserexperienceneedsimprovementandagreater
emphasismustbeplacedondesign.ClaireBoonstra,co-founderofLayar,alsotells
VentureBeatthatmobileaugmentedrealityismovingfromfunctionalARto
experienceAR.Ifthemobileaugmentedrealityindustryistomoveforward,
developersmustconverttheexistinghypeintoengaginguserexperiencesforlarger
audiences(Bryne,2010).
Movingforward,mobileaugmentedrealitysgreateststrengthoverprior
digitaltechnologiesisitsabilitytolocalizegeographicandtime-basedinformation
withintheperspectiveoftheuserspersonalenvironment(Rutledge,2010).Yet,
mostcompaniesarestrugglingtomakethiswork(Husson,2010).Inadditiontoa
lackofuserresearch,therearealsofewoptionsforevaluatingtheabilityofmobile
augmentedrealityapplicationstodisplayinformationeffectively(Schmalstieg,et
al.).Effectiveinformationdesignisincreasinglyimportantwhenuserswillnavigate
acomplexinformationecosystem(Baer,2008).
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DefiningAugmentedReality
Unlikevirtualreality,augmentedrealityattemptstoenhanceonespersonal
environment,ratherthanreplaceit.Byemployingatechnologicallensthatallowsa
usertoseeandinteractwiththeinformationthatsurroundsus,mobileaugmented
realityallowsuserstointeractwithdataonamorepersonallevel.Newtechnologies
andapplicationsarerapidlyemergingintheareasofinformationsearch,
entertainment,gamingandlocation-basedservicessuchastourismanddirectional
mapping.
Definingaugmentedreality:Althoughmanyresearchershavebroadenedthe
definitionandscopeofaugmentedreality,themostcommonlyaccepteddefining
criteriawereconceivedbyRonaldAzumain1997(Zhou,2008).Azumastatesthat
augmentedrealitysystemssharethefollowingthreecharacteristics:
1. Combinesrealandvirtualobjectsintherealworld.2. Possessesinteractivityandispresentedinreal-time.3. Registersandalignsvirtualandphysicalobjectswitheachotherin3-D.
Therationaleforthesecriteriaistoavoidlimitingaugmentedrealitytospecific
technologies.PriortoAzuma,researchershadprimarilydefinedaugmentedreality
throughtheuseofhead-mounteddisplays,anapproachunabletodistinguishsome
ARandVRapplications.Thesenewcriteriaexpandtheapplicationsofaugmented
realitytohandheldmobiledevicessuchassmartphonesandmonitor-basedsystems
thatreadspecializedcodedtagsthatcanpresentaugmentedrealityinformationon
astationarycomputerscreen(Azuma,1997).
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Augmentedrealityvs.virtualreality:Augmentedrealityisoftenlookedupon
asamiddlegroundbetweenvirtualrealityandthephysicalenvironment
(Milgram,1994).Incontrasttoaugmentedrealityandthephysicalworld,therealm
ofvirtualrealityliesentirelywithinthesynthetic.Virtualrealitycanbedefinedas,
acomputergenerated,interactive,three-dimensionalenvironmentinwhicha
personisimmersed(Aukstakalnis&Blatner,1992).Virtualrealities,suchasthose
foundincomputergameslikeWorldofWarcraftandSecondLife,areexperiencedby
theplayerthroughcontrolofanavatarinacomputer-generatedenvironment
presentedonacomputerscreen.Usersmayalsoexperiencevirtualenvironmentsby
wearinghead-mounteddisplayssuchasthosearecommonlyusedbythemilitary
fortrainingpurposes.
Thefundamentaldifferencebetweenvirtualandaugmentedrealitiesliesin
theuserperspectiveandimmersionmethodsemployedbyeachsystem.Virtual
realitysystemsstrivetobeacompletelyimmersiveexperience,similartothelevel
ofimmersionusersexperiencewitheverydayliving.Incontrast,augmentedreality
distinguishesitselfasamixedrealitybetweentwoworldsbyblendingvirtual
elementswithinareal-worldenvironment(Milgram,1994).
PaulMilgramexpandeduponthisconceptwithhisReality-Virtuality
continuum(Figure1).Milgramarguesthataugmentedrealityisamixedreality,
sharingcharacteristicsofbothrealandvirtualenvironments.Milgramsvirtuality
continuumvisualizesthedegreeofuserimmersionandclassesofobjectsdisplayed
withinaspecificreality.Forexample,auserinavirtualworldiscompletely
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immersedwithinanartificialenvironmentconsistingentirelyofsyntheticartifacts,
whileanaugmentedrealityenvironmentmixestherealworldwithvirtualelements.
Incontrast,augmentedvirtualityisthemergingofrealworldobjectsintovirtual
environments(Milgram,1994).
Figure1.Milgramsreality-virtualitycontinuummodel.
Mobileaugmentedreality:Atypicalmobileaugmentedrealitysystem
presentsvirtualelementstotheuserbyoverlayingdataandvisualsoverareal
environmentbyemployingeitherahandheldorwearabledisplaydeviceequipped
withacameraandposition/orientationtrackingsystem.Thetwomostcommon
augmentedrealitydisplaytechnologiesarehead-worndevicesandsmartphones.
AHWDprovidesthemostimmersiveaugmentedrealityexperience,sincethe
visualinformationisdirectlytiedtotheviewoftheuser.Thedevicecanbeassmall
asapairofsunglasses,whichareavailablefromestablishedelectroniccompanies
suchasMinoltaandSony.HWDdevicescandisplayaugmentedrealityvisualsintwo
ways:throughamountedvideodisplay,orthroughanopaqueARoverlaywhilethe
usercanstillseehissurroundingsthroughatransparentdisplaydevice(Azuma
2001).
SmartphonesworkalongthesameprinciplesasHWDsbuttheyareheld
insteadofworn.Typically,theuserpointsthedeviceinthedirectionofanitemof
Real
Environment
Virtual
Environment
Augmented
Reality (AR)
Augmented
Virtuality (AV)
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interest,andthecameraoutputwillaugmentthedisplaywithadditional
informationabouttheenvironment(Gotow,2010).Duetotheportablenatureof
smartphones,mobileaugmentedrealitydeviceshavebecomethemostwidely
deployedconsumeraugmentedrealitydisplaydeviceandshowpromisefor
becomingthefirstcommercialsuccessforaugmentedrealitytechnologies.
Additionally,augmentedrealitygraphicalinformationcanbepresented
throughtheuseofwearablespatial-displaydevicesthatprojectvisualsontopof
physicalobjects.AtaTEDconferenceinFebruary2009,PattieMaesandPranav
MistrypresentedSixthSense,agesturalARinterfacethatiswornaroundtheneck.
Thedeviceitselfconsistsofacamera,projector,smartphoneandmirror,whichis
abletoprojectanimageonanynearbysurfacesuchasahandorawall.Theuser
alsowearsfourcoloredcapsonthefingers,whichareusedbytheARunittodetect
handgesturesmadebythewearertointeractwiththeprojectedimages(TED,
2009).
Anaugmentedrealitysystemmustbeabletorecognizewhatusersare
lookingat,acquiretheappropriatevirtualgraphics,andregistertheminthecorrect
positiononthedisplaydevice:
1.Recognition:MobileARapplicationsareabletorecognizewhatauseris
lookingatbytriangulatingitslocationbymeansofinformationprovidedby
GPS,cell-phonetowers,orWi-Fihotspots.Anotherapproachusedby
augmentedrealitydevelopersistousephysicalmarkers,orARTags,which
canappearaloneorappearonobjectssuchasanadvertisementina
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magazine.Amobilephoneequippedwithaugmentedrealitysoftwareanda
camerawillrecognizethemarkerandaccuratelyoverlaya3Dgraphicimage
intherealworldonscreen.
2.Registration:Inadditiontorecognizingwhatauserislookingat,an
augmentedrealitydevicemustbeabletoaccuratelyalignandregistervirtual
objectsovertheexistingonesinphysicalsurroundings.Augmentedreality
displaytechnologiesareabletoaccomplishthisthroughlandmark
recognitionbyutilizingimagesofthesurroundingareastoredonwebsites
suchasGoogle,Bing,andFlickr(Vaughan-Nichols,2009).Thesystemisable
toaccuratelypinpointtheexactpositionoftheartifactthroughthecameras
leveloffocusandimage-recognitionsoftware(Saite,1996).
3.Imageacquisition:Oncetheaugmentedrealitysystemaccurately
recognizesandregistersafixedlocationintherealworld,itwillpullinthe
correctdataandimagestooverlayonscreenfromtheInternet(Vaughan-
Nichols,2009).
Uses:MobileaugmentedRealityisusedinavarietyofdisciplinesranging
frommilitarytrainingprogramsandarchitecturalsurveys,toaidingsurgeons
duringmedicalproceduresorreplacingengineeringtechnicalmanualsinthe
manufacturingandrepairsectors.Consumer-basedapplicationshaverecently
emergedintheformofgames,informationbrowsersandimmersivestorytelling
experiences.
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PurposeofStudy
Asaugmentedrealitycontinuestomatureasacommunicationmediumfor
informationdesign,thereisaneedtoexploretheadvantages,potentialusesand
limitationsofthisimmersivetechnologyforsmartphoneusersandcontent
developers.Thisresearchwillinvestigate(1)theperceptionsheldbyfirst-time
mobileaugmentedrealityusers,(2)theopinionsofdigitalcontentdevelopersabout
potentialapplicationsofaugmentedrealityininformationdesignandvisual
storytelling.Anotheraimofthisresearchistoestablishaparadigmforeffective
informationdesignwhenappliedtomobileaugmentedreality.
Inthisstudy,theresearcherwillexploreusers'impressionsofthis
technologyandhowtheyinteractwithsmart-phonebasedaugmentedreality
content.Additionally,thisstudywillexploredesigners'andcontentdevelopers
ideasabouthowaugmentedrealitycanbeusedasamediumforinformationdesign
andinteractivestorytellingexperiences.Thecombinationofuseranddesigner
perspectives,alongwithanevaluationofexistingmobileapplicationswillprovidea
comprehensiveperspectiveonaugmentedrealitydesign.Thisresearchwillhelpus
understand:
Users'firstimpressionsofmobileaugmentedrealityapplications. Thedesirabilityofaugmentedrealityasadeliverymodelforinteractivecontent.
Perceivedlimitationsofaugmentedrealitydesignasseenbyusersandcontentdevelopers.
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Potentialapplicationsofaugmentedrealitywhenappliedtodigitalstorytellingandinformationdesign.
ResearchQuestions
RQ1:Whataremobileaugmentedrealityusers'impressionsofthetechnology
beforeandafterusingitforthefirsttime?
RQ2:Whatdousersandcontentdevelopersseeascurrentadvantagesand
limitationsofmobileaugmentedreality?
RQ3:Docurrentinformationdesignprinciplesneedtoberevisedinordertoapply
themtoaugmentedrealityexperiences?
SignificancetotheField
Thepowerofaugmentedrealityliesinitsabilitytoplacetheworldincontexttothe
needsoftheconsumer.Combinedwithmobiledevices,thistechnologycanfilter
massiveamountsofdatainrelationtothetimeandspaceonanindividualuser.The
markethasrecognizedmobileaugmentedrealityspotentialforredefining
informationdistributionandisbankingheavilyonitssuccess.Tothatend,itis
paramountthatdevelopersunderstandhowusersperceiveaugmentedreality
contentanddefinethebestpracticesforinformationdesignforthismedium.Doing
sowillbethefirst-stepinensuringmobileaugmentedrealityscommercialsuccess
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CHAPTER2:REVIEWOFTHELITERATURE
Consumerapplicationsofmobileaugmentedrealityarestillintheirinfancy,
yetthetechnologyitselfisdecadesold.Onlyrecentlyhasaugmentedrealitygained
popularityduetotheconvergenceofsmartphones,fasternetworksandcloud
computing(Hurley,2009).Yetmanyproblemscontinuetoplaguemobile
augmentedrealityasthefieldstrugglestofinditsniche.Mostresearchwithinthe
fieldisfocusedondevelopingbettertools,whilefewresearchershavelookedat
howusersperceivethistechnology.Thisgapinempiricaluserresearchrepresentsa
needforunderstandinghowtocreateabetteruserexperience.
Suchknowledgewouldbenefitdevelopersastheirstruggletomovepastmobile
augmentedrealitysinitialwowfactor,andavoidthestigmaofbeingavictimof
marketinghype(Bryne,2010).
Thisliteraturereviewwillprovideabriefoverviewofaugmentedreality
advancements,includingasurveyofexistingapplicationsanddevelopment
limitations.Additionally,thecurrentstateofuserresearchandapplication
evaluationmethodswillbeaddressed.Finally,thelastsectionwilldiscussusing
priorresearchinthefieldofinformationdesignasabasisforevaluatingaugmented
realityapplications.
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Abriefhistory
Althoughaugmentedrealityiscurrentlyoneofthehottesttrendsinmobile
media,thetechnologyitselfisnotnew.Theearliestexampleofrudimentary
augmentedrealitycanbetracedbacktothefirstheads-updisplayemployedbythe
BritishRoyalAirForceduringWorldWarII.Aradarscreensuperimposedona
pilotswindshieldwoulddisplayinformationaboutnearbyaircraft,includingthe
identitiesofenemytargets(Vaughn-Nichols,2009).
In1968,IvanSutherlandcreatedthefirstmodernexampleofanaugmented
realitysystemthatfulfillsthemoderndefinitionbyAzumaandMilgram(see
Chapter1).Sutherlandinventedahead-mounteddisplaydevicecapableof
displayingwireframe3Dgraphics,whichmovedasthewearerturnedhishead.By
1992,TomCaudwellwasthefirsttocointhetermaugmentedrealitywhenhe
designedahead-mounteddeviceforBoeingtoassistengineerswireanairplane
duringthemanufacturingprocess.Hissystemdisplayedtheaircraftsschematicson
thefactoryfloor(Zhou,2008).
HirokazuKatoandMarkBillinghurstintroducedthefirstcomputervision-
trackinglibrary,calledARToolKit(Kato&Billinghurst,1999).Virtualimagerycould
nowbeoverlaidintherealworldthroughdigitalmarkerscalledARTagsthatcould
bereadbydesktopcomputersequippedwithcameras.Whenheldinfrontofa
camera,printedARTagsarerecognizedbythesystemanda3Dimageis
superimposedinitsplaceonacomputerscreen.Today,advertisersandmagazines
commonlyuseARTagsasawaytobringinteractivitytoaprintedproduct.
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TheDecember2009issueofEsquiremagazinedemonstratedhowprintand
digitalcontentcouldbemergedthroughtheemploymentofARTags.After
downloadingaugmentedrealitysoftwarefromtheEsquirewebsite,readerscould
usetheircomputerswebcamtoviewthemagazinesdigitalfeatures.Thisissue
includesthecoverfeaturingRobertDowney,Jr.sittingonanARTagthatdisplaysa
videopromotingthefilmSherlockHomes.Morethanhalfadozenpagesshowcased
augmentedrealitycontent,includingtwoadvertisementsfromLexus(Esquire,
2009).OthermarketersandpublicationshavefollowedsuitincludingPopular
MechanicsandMINI.
Recently,stateoftheartresearchinaugmentedrealityhasshiftedtoward
mobile,hand-helddevices.Researchersarestudyinghowportabledevicescanbe
usedtoenhancevisionthroughARtracking(Wagner,2008),whileindustry
developersareemployingdirectional-basedaugmentedrealityexperiencesthrough
mobilephoneapplications.EarlymobileARduringthe1990sreliedonHead-Worn
DevicescontrolledbywearablebackpacksystemsandlaterexpandedtoPDAsand
cellphones(Azuma2001,Schmalstiegetal., 2011).Withtheadventofpowerful
smartphonesequippedwithGPSsystems,fasterprocessingspeedsanddata
transfer,andlargerdisplays,todaysmobileaugmentedrealitydevicesarecapable
ofoverlayingvirtualinformationonasmartphone'scameraoutputinreal-time.
CombinedwiththepopulariPhoneandAndroidmobileplatforms,mobile
augmentedrealityhasmovedbeyonditstraditionalmilitaryandindustry
applicationsandhasbeguntoenterthehandsofconsumers.Avarietyof
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applicationshavebeenintroduced,suchas:informationbrowsers,educational
tools,andgames.
Consumermobileaugmentedrealityapplications
Consumer-basedmobileaugmentedrealityapplicationdevelopmenthas
seentremendousgrowthoverthepastfewyears.AccordingtoAugmentedPlanet,
asofJune2010therewere396applicationslistedinApplesiTunesstorewith
descriptionslistingaugmentedrealityasafeature.1AsofMarch2011,therewere
630iPhoneapplicationsmatchingthesamedescription3.Theapplicationsrange
frominformationservicesandnavigationaltoolstogamesandentertainment.
Table2.1MobileAugmentedRealityCategories
InformationBrowsers
Informationalpointofinterestoverlaidwithina
smartphonecamerasfieldofvision.Userscanfind
localpointsofinterest,restaurants,photos,and
socialmediacontent.
SocialNetworking Sharesanddisplaysgeo-taggedsocialnetworking
content
Tourism Cityguidesandsightseeingapplications
EntertainmentandGames 360-degreeshooters,virtualscavengerhunts,virtualpetsandpuzzlecheatoverlays.
Education Learningbasedapplicationssuchassatellitefinders
orconstellationidentifiers.
Shopping Virtuallytryoutproductsandorshopfor
merchandisebyusingimageorbarcodescanners
Navigation Assistuserswithnavigatingtoafixedlocationsuch
asalocalrestaurantorbusstop.
Utilities Compasses,headupdisplaysandoverlayssuchas
coloridentifiers,rulersorassemblyinstructions.Translation Dynamicallytranslatestextinimagesfroma
camerasperspectiveintoonesnativelanguage.
1FiguredeterminedbyaninformationsearchusingthetermaugmentedrealityiniTunesAppStore.3UpdatedfiguresbasedonsearchbasedonsameterminologybytheresearcheronMarch1,2011
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Themostpopularandlargestapplicationcategorytodateisinformation
browsers.Mobileaugmentedrealitybrowsersdisplaydatapointsofinterestwithin
amobilephonecamerasfieldofvision.Theyareusedtofindlocalpointsofinterest
suchaslandmarks,publictransportation,restaurantsorretailoutlets.
In2009,SPRXmobilecreatedLayar,thefirstmobileaugmentedreality
browser.Theapplicationoffersseveraloptionsforoverlayingdigitalinformation
relatingtobrands,servicesandsocialnetworking.Whenausersearchesforlocal
restaurantsorbusinesses,Layarwilloverlaynavigationalinformationdirectingthe
usertowardthenearestlocation.Thereareover1,500layerstochoosefrom
including:Wikipediaentries,restaurantguides,gamesandsocialnetworking
integration.Additionally,Layarisanopenplatform,whichencouragesother
developersandcontentproviderstocreateadditionallayersshowcasingtheir
informationorservices.
Othercompetitorshavesurfacedinthebrowsercategory.Junaio,ageneral-
purposebrowsersimilartoLayar,isthefirstaugmentedrealityapplicationto
employLLA(latitude,longitude,altitude)markers.LAAmarkersareconsideredto
beamoreaccuratelocationsystemwhenemployedindoors,whichtendstobe
problematicunderGPS-basedsystems(Junaio,2011)duetothedifficultyofindoor
receptionofGPSsatellitesignals.
Otherinformationbrowsersemploymoretargetedfunctions.Thesecan
includecityguides,subwaylocators,orwikis.Forexample,ZagatToGo,basedon
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thepopularZagatDiningguide,directsdinerstothenearestfinedininglocations.
WikitudeWorldBrowserisasmartphonetravelguideapplicationthat
superimposesinformationabouthistoricallandmarksorotherpointsofinterest
fromWikipedia.
Inadditiontoinformation-basedservices,mobileaugmentedrealityhas
becomeintegratedintonewformsofsocialnetworking,shoppingandgames.
Integratingsocialnetworkinghasbeenapopulartrend.Itcanappeareither
integratedintoalargerapplicationorasaseparatemobileapplication.Social
networkingapplicationssuchasTwittAroundallowaugmentedrealityusersto
virtuallygeo-tagtheirtweets,whichcanbevisualizedinrealtimeonamobile
displayforotherstosee.ShoppingappssuchasRedLaserbyOcciptalcanread
labelsandbarcodesinordertocomparepricesanddiscoverdiscountsandsale
items.Mobileaugmentedrealityisalsodeliveringnewgamingexperiences.
Smartphonegamerscanparticipateinthevirtualscavengerhuntgame,Crimsonfox
(Toto,2010)orplaya360degreeshooterlikeSkySiege,inwhichtheusershoots
downenemyaircraftflyingaroundtheirlivingroomoroffice.
DevelopmentConcernsandLimitations
AugmentedRealityisfarfromthepointatwhichconsumersanddevelopers
universallyacceptitasaviabletechnology.Whilemostpeoplehaveseenexamples
ofhowaugmentedrealityworksinthenewsorotherpopularculturesources,few
peoplehaveexperiencedARfirsthandduetoaccessbarriersandlimitedadoption
ofAR-readysmartphones.Significantadvanceshavebeenmadeoverthelast15
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yearsinARdisplaydevices,especiallyinmobilemedia.However,mobileaugmented
realitystillfacessignificanthardwareandsoftwarelimitations.Additionally,
developersmustdealwithalackofopenstandardsandagrowingconcernover
userprivacyandsecurity.
TobiasHllerer,anassociateprofessorofcomputerscienceatUCSanta
Barbara,hassaidinaWired.cominterview:
Augmentedrealityisstifledbylimitationsinsoftwareandhardware,he
explained.Cellphonesrequiresuperbbatterylife,computationalpower,
camerasandtrackingsensors.Forsoftware,augmentedrealityrequires
amuchmoresophisticatedartificialintelligenceand3Dmodeling
applications.Andaboveall,thistechnologymustbecomeaffordableto
consumers.Thebestpossibletechnologythatisavailabletodaywould
nearlycost$100,000forasolidaugmented-realitydevice.(Chen,2009)
Smartphonesalsoprovidelimitedscreenspacefordisplayingaugmented
information.Registrationproblemscontinuetoplagueaugmentedrealitysystems,
sinceGPSisonlyaccuratetowithin30feetanddoesnotworkwellindoors(Metz,
2009).Registrationerrorsareconsideredthemostsignificantlimitationofmobile
augmentedrealitysystems.Theyareoftentheresultoftrackingandalignment
issuescausedbysensorand/orcameracalibrationerrorsandnetworklatency
(Haller,Billinghurst&Thomas,p.26).Registrationerrorsareofparticularconcern
inthescopeofinformationdesignasmisalignedvisualrepresentationofdataleads
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toinaccuratereportingofinformation.Furthermore,ithinderstheviabilityofthe
applicationbydiminishingusersatisfaction.
Interoperabilityandopenstandardswillalsobenecessarytoencourage
contentdeveloperstoadoptaugmentedreality.Currently,usersarerequiredto
accesscontentdatathroughaspecificapplication.Forexample,theonlywayto
accessWikitudedataistousetheWikitudemobileapplication.Lackofcross-
platforminteroperabilitycouldresultinARwarssimilartothewebbrowserwars
ofthe1990s(Kirkpatrick,2009).Ifaugmentedrealitydevelopmentistobecome
mainstream,standardizeddataformats,arenecessary.Concurrently,application
developersalsolackeasytouseauthoringtoolsforcreatingmobileaugmented
realitycontent(Schmalstieg,etal.,2011).
Inadditiontothesetechnologicallimitations,augmentedrealityhasseveral
imageandsecurityconcerns.Science-fictionauthorandrenownedaugmented
realitycriticBruceSterlingdiscussedtheissuestheaugmentedrealityindustryis
facinginhiskeynoteaddress,AttheDawnoftheAugmentedRealityIndustry.
AccordingtoSterling,augmentedrealityisanexcitingtechnologywithtremendous
promise,yetitstillhasasleazy,gimmickyfeeltoit(2009).Sterlingalsowarnedthat
securityandspamcouldbepotentialproblemsinthefutureaspornand
pharmaceuticalcompaniesandhackersattempttocrowdtheaugmentedviewwith
unwantedspam.Inaddition,augmentedrealityadopterscanpotentiallyface
informationoverloadordependence,similartoInternetaddiction.
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Movingforward,themobileaugmentedrealityindustrymustaddressthe
monetaryandtechnicallimitationsofexistingdisplaysystemsifthistechnologyis
toachieveanysignificantmarketpenetration.Furthermore,opendevelopment
standardsmustberealizediftheindustrywishestoattractdevelopersforcreating
newmobileaugmentedrealitycontent.
Thecurrentstateofuserresearchandevaluations
Themajorityofpublishedresearchinthefieldofaugmentedrealityhas
focusedonthedevelopmentofnewtechnologiesandapplicationprototypes.Few
studieshaveaddresseduserexperienceandmobileapplicationevaluation.Studies
thathavefocusedonusershavebeeninformalandunderstructuredtestingsetups
(Schmalstieg,etal.).Accordingtoa2005literaturesurveybySwannetal.(2005)
reviewingallaugmentedrealityliteraturepublishedinleadingjournalsand
conferences,lessthan8%hadanyreferencetoformaluserevaluations.TheHITLab
NZconductedasimilarstudyin2008andfoundthatonly29%ofpublished
augmentedrealityarticlesinmajorcomputersciencejournalsincludedreferences
touserresearch.Asof2011accordingtoscholarlyreferencesearchesconductedby
thisresearcher,nopublishedresearchstudiesaddressperceptionsandexperiences
ofconsumersusingmobileaugmentedrealityapplications.
Ifmobileaugmentedrealityistobecomeaviablemediumfordelivering
visualinformation,empiricalresearchmustbeconductedthatseekstodiscover
howcommerciallyavailableapplicationsareperceivedandemployed.Accordingto
Schmalstieg,etal.,ifmobileaugmentedrealityapplicationsaretobecome
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commonplace,attentionmustbedevotedtouserstudies.Thereisaneedfornovel
approachestoevaluatingapplicationinterfacesandtheconsumersthatusethem.
Researchgapsinthisareacanbefoundintheevaluationofmobileapplicationsthat
employsocialnetworkingandlocation-basedusercollaborations(p.33);These
featuresarecommonlyemployedbyinformation-bowserapplicationsuchasLayar.
Apotentialsolution
Mobileaugmentedrealityspotentialliesinitsabilitytomakelocation-based
informationcontextuallyrelevanttotheperceptionoftheindividualuser.The
amountofavailabledataislimitless.TheInternethasbroughtworldwideaccessto
datasourcesincludingnews,informationservices,shoppingandsocialnetworking.
However,theproblemliesinhowtheend-userwadesthroughtheexorbitant
amountofdata.Awaytomakesenseofthisdatafromonespersonalpointofview
isneeded.PaulSaffo,atechnologyforecasterandanalyststates:
Pointofviewisthatquintessentiallyhumansolutiontoinformation
overload,andintuitiveprocessofreducingthingstoanessential
relevantandmanageableminimumInaworldofhyperabundant
content,pointofviewwillbecomethescarcestofresources.(Baer,
18)
Theprinciplesofinformationdesign,combinedwiththetechnological
advantagesofferedbymobileaugmentedrealitydisplays,canbeafilteringlensthat
bringsordertothischaos.Informationdesignisaframeworkforclear
communicationofdata.Itisemployedasanorganizationandpresentationmethod
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designedtobringmeaningtounstructureddata.Dataaloneisconsideredworthless
withoutusercontext(Shedroff,270).Througheffectiveinformationdesign,onecan
createvaluebydefiningfilteringconstraintsthatcommunicatedatainsuchaway
thatcarriesbothmeaningandpurposeincontexttotheuser'spointofview(Dervin,
43;Shedroff,270).
Thepresentationofatailoredinformationschemeisimportantformobile
augmentedrealitysinceitreliesontheplacementofvisualartifactswithinthe
user'senvironment.Additionally,theaestheticsofinformationdesignareclosely
relatedtographicdesign,whereprinciplesofvisualcommunicationareappliedto
thedeliveryofinformation.ForemostamonginformationvisualizersisEdward
Tufte,theleadingauthorityonthevisualpresentationofdata(AIGA,2004).Tufteis
apioneerinthefieldwhoestablishedthegeneralprinciplesofinformationdesign,
usingvisuallanguageasameanstoenhancethedeliveryandclarityofinformation
(Horn,20).
Inhisthreebooks,TheVisualDisplayofQuantitativeInformation(1983),
EnvisioningInformation(1990),andVisualExplanations(1997),Tuftedescribeshis
generalprinciplesofinformationdesign.Theseprinciplesareameansforenabling
userstounderstandandenvisioninformation.Thefoundationalprincipleis
avoidanceofvisualoverload,aconditionTuftereferstoaschartjunk.Tuftedefines
chartjunkasanyfrivolousvisualelementsnotrequiredforthecomprehensionof
information,ordistractingtheviewerfromsaidinformation(1983).Thisis
significantforthedesignofmobileaugmentedrealityapplications.Designersmust
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takeintoaccountcompetingenvironmentalelementswithintheusersfieldof
vision,whichthedesignerhasnocontrolover.Tocounterthis,designersand
mobileapplicationdeveloperscanlooktoTuftesinformationdesignprinciples:
micro/macrodesign,layeringandseparation,smallmultiples,colorand
information,andtheintegrationofwordsandimages.
Micro/MacroDesign:TuftedescribesMicro/Macrocompositionsas
visualizationsthatcontainlargeamountsofdetail,yetwithinwhichpatterns
emerge."Micro"referstothesmallerdetailsthatmakeupthegreaterwhole
(macro),thuscreatingstructure(Tufte,1990,p.33).Tuftearguesthatmacro/micro
designisbothacriticalandvaluablemethodfordisplayinginformationinwaysthat
readerscanunderstandthecomplexitiesofthebigpicture,yetalsoplacethe
smallerdetailsincontext(1990,p.50).
LayeringandSeparation:Bylayeringinformation,onecanestablishavisual
hierarchythatemphasizescontentimportanttothereaderanddeemphasizes
whatsnot.Bycreatingsaliencethroughdesign,Tuftearguesthatthereadercan
easilynavigatethroughastructured,organizedconstructforpresenting
information.
Theseparationofdatacategoriesisequallyasimportantashierarchal
presentationstructures.AccordingtoTufte,Designersshouldseparatelayersof
informationbymeansofweight,shape,size,valueorcolor.Failuretodosoresults
injumbledup,blurry,incoherent,[and]chaoticdesigns(1990,p.58).
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SmallMultiples:Asmallmultipleisasingledesignelement,repeatedmultiple
timesinordertoshowvariationsofatheme.Itisareliablemethodforallowing
userstoseechangesanddifferencesamongsimilarobjects(1990,p.67).Through
theprincipleofsmallmultiples,Tuftearguesonecancreatecontrastindetail,yet
maintaincontextwithouttheneedforchangingthedesign(1983,p.170).Designers
oftenemploythismethodtocreateasenseofunitybyusingsimilarcolorsand
typefaces,yetmayuselargertypeforheadlinesorcategoriestovisualize
significance.
ColorandInformation:Theprincipleofapplyingcolortoinformationisa
meanstolabelcategories,quantifyintensity,imitatereality,andtoenlivenor
beautifydata(1990,p.81).Whenusingcolor,Tuftesuggeststhatstrong,darker
tonesshouldbeusedsparinglysincetheyarebothloudanddisruptiveandcan
distortonesvisualfield,thuscreatingunpleasanteffects.Secondly,usinglightand
brightercolorsnexttoeachothercanalsocausevisualdistortions(1990,p.83).
Instead,Tuftesuggeststhatdesignersuseearthtones,andlightershadesofblue,
yellowandgrey(1990,p.90).
Integratingwordsandimages:Wordsandimagesarethefundamental
buildingblocksofinformationdesign.Designersemploythisprincipleinorderto
presentinformationinstoryform.Tuftearguesthatwordsandimagesshouldnever
beseparated,asitwouldburdenthereaderwiththetaskofhavingtocognitively
associatetheseparateelements.Designerswhoeffectivelyintegratetextandimages
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cancontrolthenavigationandflowofthereadersexperiencetofacilitate
understanding(1990,p.116).
Althoughtheseprincipleswereoriginallyconceptualizedwithprintinmind,
Tufteandinformationdesignersconsidertheseprinciplestobetimelessand
applicabletoanymedium.Tufteargueshisprinciplesofinformationdesignare
universal-likemathematicsandarenottiedtouniquefeaturesofaparticular
languageorculture(1990,p.10)Tuftesinfluencehasexpandedintowebdesign
andotherformsofinformationinterfaces,includingtheiPhone(Tufte,2008).
Thispointhasalsobeenproventhroughacademicresearch.Beverly
ZimmermanofBrighamYoungUniversityconductedastudyin1997totestif
Tuftesprinciplesofinformationdesigncouldbeappliedtoeffectivewebdesign.
ThestudyusedTuftesprinciplestoevaluatethedesigneffectivenessoftwo
websites.HerresultsindicatedTuftesprinciplesareapplicabletointeractivemedia
liketheweb,andcanalsoserveasameasurementtoolforevaluatingthe
effectivenessofawebpageinconveyinginformation(Zimmerman,1997).This
researchisrelevanttomobileaugmentedrealitysincethereisaneedforeffective
measurementoftheeffectivenessofmobileaugmentedrealityapplicationdesigns.
EdwardTuftesprinciplescouldpotentiallyfillthisneed.
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CHAPTER3:RESEARCHMETHODS
Evaluatinganewcommunicationmediumsuchasmobileaugmentedreality
requiresamulti-dimensionalqualitativemethodthattakesintoaccountbothuser
anddesignperspectives,alongwithanevaluationofexistingapplications.This
studyimplementedaqualitativethematicanalysisandheuristicevaluationsin
ordertoanswerthefollowing:
RQ1:Whataremobileaugmentedrealityusers'impressionsofthe
technologybeforeandafterusingitforthefirsttime?
RQ2:Whatdousersandcontentdevelopersseeastheadvantagesand
limitationsofmobileaugmentedreality?
RQ3:Doinformationdesignprinciplesneedtoberevisedinordertoapply
themtoaugmentedrealityexperiences?
Thisstudydescribestheinitialperceptionsofcollegestudentsbeforeand
aftertheyengagedwithamobileaugmentedrealityapplicationforthefirsttime.
Additionally,asmallnumberofquestionnaireswereconductedtoexplorethe
problemfromtheperspectiveofaugmentedrealitydesignersandcontent
developers.Focusgroupsandquestionnaireswereusedtocollectdataintheareas
ofusabilityanddesirabilityaswellastheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthe
medium.Theprimarygoalofthisresearchistoevaluatetheviabilityofmobile
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augmentedrealityapplicationsasavehicleforinformationdesign.Thenarrative
datawastranscribed,codedandcategorizedintomainthemesrelatedtoRQ1-2.
ToanswerRQ3,theresearcherconductedaheuristicevaluationofJunaio
andLayar,thetwomostpopularinformation-basedmobileaugmentedreality
applicationsavailableatthetimeofthisstudy.Aheuristicevaluationisaneffective
methodforidentifyingthestrengthsandlimitationsofaninteractivesystem,based
onacceptedstandardsofpractice.Forthisstudy,evaluativecriteriawerederived
fromestablishedprinciplesofinformationdesign.
Methodsoverview
Thematicanalysis:Thisstudyreliedonthematicanalysistoidentifyuser
perceptionsofmobileaugmentedrealityapplicationandthedesignerswhocreate
them.BraunandClark(2006)definethematicanalysisasmethodforidentifying,
analyzingandreportingpatterns(themes)withindata(p.79).Athemes,asdefined
byBoyatiz(1998),is:
...apatternfoundintheinformationthatattheminimumdescribesand
organizespossibleobservationsoratthemaximuminterpretsaspectsofthe
phenomenon.Themescanbegeneratedinductivelyfromrawdatasets,or
deductedthroughtheuseoftheoryandpriorresearch.(p.161)
Athememaybeidentifiedatthemanifestlevel(directlyobservableinthe
information)oratthelatentlevel(categorizingissuesunderlyingthephenomenon)
(p.9).
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media.Forthisreason,Tuftesguidelinesaretheidealcriterionforevaluating
informationdesignpracticesonmobileaugmentedrealityplatforms.
Setting
ThisstudywasconductedatBallStateUniversity,amid-sizeduniversity
locatedinMuncie,Indiana.Participantswereselectedfromapopulationof22,000
students.AdditionalfieldresearchwasconductedinIndianapolis,forthepurpose
ofheuristicallyevaluatingmobileaugmentedrealityapplicationsusagewithina
metropolitanenvironment.
Participants
First-timeusers:Theresearcheremployedconveniencesamplingtocollect
subjectsforTestGroup1.Selectionofparticipantswasrestrictedtoundergraduate
andgraduatestudentscurrentlyenrolledatBallStateUniversity.Participantswere
alsoselectedbecausetheycurrentlyownedaniPhoneorandroid-basedsmartphone
andhadnopriorexperienceusingmobileaugmentedrealityapplications.Sixnon-
designstudentswerechosenatrandomtoparticipate.
Theparticipantsinthestudyrepresentedavarietyofmajorsand
departmentswithintheUniversity.Fourstudentsweremale;twowerefemale.Two
ofthefourmalestudentsweregraduatestudentswhiletherestoftheparticipants
wereundergraduates.Allstudentparticipantswereintheirearlytomid-twenties.
Designersandcontentdevelopers:Twoparticipantswereidentifiedand
selectedtocompletequestionnairesbytheresearcherthroughInternetsearches
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andrecommendations.Participantswereselectedbasedontheirskillsand
experienceinmobileaugmentedrealitydevelopment,alongwithavisual
communicationbackgroundinoneormoreofthefollowingareas:information
design,visualstorytelling,multimediagraphics,mobileplatforms,andorart
direction.Bothparticipantshavebeenrecognizedasleadersintheirfield,basedon
theirpublicationandpresentationrecords.
ResearchInstruments
Focusgroup:Afocusgroupexploredinitialuserperceptionsofaugmented
reality,beforeandafterusingamobileaugmentedrealityapplicationforthefirst
time.Thefocusgroupmetfortwosessions,bothlastingoneandahalfhoursin
length.Sessionswereseparatedbyaseven-dayperiodduringwhichparticipants
wereaskedtocompleteanassignedtaskwithanARapplication.Thetotaltime
commitmentforparticipantswasfivehours(seeAppendixA).
I. SessionOne:ParticipantswerepresentedtwoshortvideosintroducingtheconceptofaugmentedrealityandtheLayarmobileapplication.Bothofthese
videoswereproducedbyLayaranddemonstratetheapplicationspurpose,
alongwithapreviewofitsinformation,socialmediaandgamingfeatures.
Followingthevideos,subjectswereaskedtodiscusstheirfirstimpressions,
howtheymightusetheapplication,whethertheyfounditdesirable,and/or
potentialconcerns.Attheconclusionofthesession,theparticipantswere
instructedtodownloadtheLayarapplicationontotheirpersonalsmart
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phoneandtouseittocompleteanassignedtask.Thetaskwastotryoutand
evaluatetheLayarapplicationforatleasttwohoursoveraseven-dayperiod.
II. SessionTwo:StudentsreconvenedtodiscusstheirexperiencesusingtheLayarapplication.Discussionprobescoveredusability,viabilityasamedium
forinformationdelivery,features,suggestionsforfutureapplications,
problemsandconcerns,desirability,andwillingnesstousetheapplicationin
thefuture.
Questionnaires:Perceptionsaboutmobileaugmenteddesignandits
implicationsincommunicatinginformationweremeasuredbyquestionnaires
completedbytwodesignprofessionals.Questionsexploredrespondentsopinions
abouthowaugmentedrealitycanbeusedtoadvanceinformationdesignand
interactivestorytelling,includingitsadvantagesanddisadvantagesrelativetoother
communicationmediums(seeAppendixB).
HeuristicEvaluations:Anevaluationchecklistwasdevisedusingjudging
protocolsderivedfromtheinformationdesignprincipleswrittenbyEdwardTufte
inhisbooks:TheVisualDisplayofQuantitativeInformation(1983),Envisioning
Information(1990)andVisualExplanations(1997).Problemsandinstancesare
notedforeachappliedprincipleonthebasisofstructure,presentationand
dynamicsintheapplicationdesign(seeAppendixC).
DataCollectionandProcedures
Datawascollectedthroughmoderatedfocusgroups,surveysandheuristic
evaluations:
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I. Focusgroups:Datawascollectedthroughinteractivegroupdiscussion,moderatedbytheresearcher.Thefocusgroupswereconductedunder
naturalsettingsusingadiscussionguideprotocol(seeAppendixA).
DiscussionstookplaceoncampusatBallStateUniversity,whereall
participantswerecurrentlyregisteredstudents.Theresearcherguidedthe
groupsdiscussionthroughpredefinedprobes(seeAppendixA)andasked
follow-upquestionsbasedonparticipantresponses.Thedatacollection
processtookplaceduringtwofocusgroupsessionsconductedoveratwo-
weekperiod,totalingthreehoursofdiscussiontime.Eachsessionwasvideo-
recordedforaccuracyandlastedone-and-a-halfhours.
II. Surveys:Anopen-endedquestionnaire(seeAppendixB)thatconsistedofunstructuredandsentencecompletiontypequestionsweresentto
participatingdesignexperts,alongwithinstructionsforhowtocompleteand
submitthesurveybye-mail.Participantscompletedthequestionnairesat
homeorworkontheirowntime.
III. HeuristicEvaluation:Theresearcherevaluatedtwomobileaugmentedrealityapplications,LayarandJunaiobyusinganevaluationchecklistbased
onheuristicsderivedfromthefollowinginformationdesignprinciplesby
EdwardTufte:micro/macrodesign,layeringandseparation,smallmultiples,
effectiveuseofcolorandintegrationofwordsandimages.Theevaluation
wasconductedbytestingthemobileapplicationsatBallStateUniversitys
maincampusanditssurroundingneighborhoodsinMuncie,Indiana.Every
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functionwastestedtwiceforreliability,andallproblemsweredocumented
forfurtheranalysis.Additionalfieldresearchwasalsoconductedin
Indianapolistoprovidecontrastregardinghowtheapplicationspreformed
inametropolitanenvironmentversusruralarea.Observationswere
recordedontheheuristicsscorecardduringaone-weekperiod,totalingsix
hoursofevaluationtime.
DataAnalysis
Thecollectednarrativedatafromtheuserfocusgroupsanddesignersurveys
weretranscribedandcategorizedbythematicanalysis.Subjectresponseswere
categorizedintothemesapplicabletoansweringtheresearchquestions.The
researcherusedacodingmethodtoorganizecollectdataintothemesthat
illuminatedthekeyconceptsofthisstudy.Additionally,interviewresponsesfrom
designerswereusedtoprovidesupplementalevidenceinsupportofuserresponses
TheapplicationsLayarandJunaiowereanalyzedinaccordancewiththe
informationdesignprinciplesdefinedontheheuristicevaluationscorecard(see
AppendixC).Athematicanalysiswasappliedtocategorizethestrengthsand
weaknessesoftheapplicationsinaccordancewiththedesignprinciplestoestablish
aparadigmforinformation-basedaugmentedrealitydesign.Emergentthemesfrom
theheuristicevaluationswerecross-referencedandvalidatedbythenarrativedata
sets.
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EthicalConsiderations
Asthisstudyrequiredtheparticipationofhumansubjects,ethicalissues
wereaddressedtoprotecttheprivacyandsafetyofallparticipants.Themost
significantissuesconsideredduringthisstudywereinformedconsentand
confidentiality.Priortoparticipation,eachsubjectwasfullyinformedofall-
importantaspectsofthestudy,includingitsaimandpurpose.Furthermore,
participantswereadvisedoftheirrighttowithdrawfromthestudyatanytime.
Subjectconfidentialitywasensuredbynotdisclosingtheirnamesorpersonal
informationintheresearch.Onlyrelevantdatapertinenttoansweringtheresearch
questionswereincluded.
Conclusion
Thisstudyemployedaqualitativemethodtoanswerthethreestated
researchquestions.Datacollectedfromfocusgroups,questionnairesand
evaluationsofexistingaugmentedrealityapplicationswerethematicallyanalyzed
togaugetheviabilityofmobileaugmentedrealityasamediumforvisual
informationcommunication.
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CHAPTER4:RESULTS
Thisstudyemployedaqualitativemethodologyto(1)discoverandidentify
theinitialperceptionsoffirsttimeaugmentedrealityusersand(2)identifythe
advantagesandlimitationsofmobileaugmentedrealitysystemsfromadesign
perspective.Focusgroupswereusedtocollectdataintheareasofusabilityand
desirability,alongwiththeperceivedadvantagesanddisadvantagesofusingmobile
augmentedrealityasamediumforinformationdelivery.Additionally,
questionnairessubmittedbytwoprofessionaldesignerswithexperienceinthefield
providedsupplementalinsightsintomobileaugmentedrealityfromadesigners
perspective.Finally,aheuristicevaluationwasconductedtoevaluatehowexisting
mobileaugmentedrealityapplicationsconformtoestablishedinformationdesign
principles.
Athematicanalysisrevealedthatmobileaugmentedrealityisstrugglingto
finditsnicheamongconsumers.Themesderivedfromparticipantresponseswere
problematictechnicallimitationsandalackofcompellingcontentanduser
experiences.Additionally,aheuristicevaluationoftwoaugmentedreality
applicationsdiscoveredlimitationsinhowaugmentedrealitycontentisdisplayed
onmobiledevices.
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FirstImpressions
Focusgroupdiscussionsprovidedinsightintohowparticipantsperceived
thetechnologybeforeusingitforthefirsttime.Priortodiscussion,participants
watchedtwoshortvideos(totaling10minutesinlength)thatintroducedthe
conceptsofmobileaugmentedrealityandtheLayarapplication.Bothvideos
demonstratedLayarandthesocialmedia,gamingandinformation-delivery
capabilitiesofmobileaugmentedreality.Followingthisbriefoverview,the
researcherfacilitateddiscussionbyaskingparticipantstosharetheirinitial
thoughtsandopinionsbasedontheintroductoryvideos.Additionalquestions
exploredhowtheymightusetheapplication,itsdesirabilityand/orpotential
concerns.Althoughthediscussionswerestructured,participantswereencouraged
tospeakfreelyabouttheirthoughtsandopinions.Inadditiontothegroupsfirst
impressions,twothemesemergedfromthepatternsofdiscussion:perceiveduses
withanemphasisoninformation-basedservicesandapotentialinvasionofuser
privacy.
Firstimpressions:Initialjudgmentsaboutmobileaugmentedrealitywere
generallypositive,withmostparticipantsviewingmobileaugmentedrealityas
potentiallyuseful.Theentiregroupwasinagreementthatthiswasanapplication
theywouldbewillingtotryoutforthemselves.Participantsdescribedthe
applicationasapotentialtooltheycoulduseforsocializingwithfriendsorasan
immersiveinformationguidetheycouldemploywhenexploringanewcity.Some
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participantsviewedmobileaugmentedrealityasthenextevolutionofvirtual
spaces:
(MobileAugmentedReality)Almostseemslikeacrossbetween
secondlifeandreality.Youaremeetinginavirtualspace,butyouare
actuallymeetinginthesamespace.It'skindoflikeSecondLife2.0,the
evolutionofsecondlife.Insteadoftryingandtakeeverythingthatis
realityandmakeitvirtual,itcreatesthebestofbothworlds.
Perceivedinformation-baseduses:Whenparticipantswereaskedtodescribe
howtheymightuseanaugmentedrealityapplicationsuchasLayar,eachperson
describedafunctionoruserelatingtoinformationbasedservices.Themost
commonresponsescouldbesubdividedintoinformation-basedsearches,
navigation,tourismandshopping.Socialnetworkingandgamingwerealso
mentionedaspotentiallyvaluablereasonsforusingmobileaugmentedreality.
However,allparticipantsconsideredthesetobesecondary.
Beingabletopointyourmobilephoneatanartifactwithinonesown
surroundingswasofparticularinteresttothesepotentialmobileaugmentedreality
users.Theywereintriguedbythepossibilityofbeingabletousetheirmobile
devicestodiscoveradditionalinformation,suchasarestaurantshoursof
operationsorthehistoricalsignificanceofalocallandmark.Acommonideaamong
allparticipantswastousethistechnologywithinamuseumasapersonaltourguide
forlearningmoreaboutartifactsondisplay:
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IwoulduseARforinformationpurposes.LikeifIwasgoingtoa
museum,findingoutabouttheartifactsthatI'mlookingat.Ifyouput
thephoneovertheart,itgivesyouinformationaboutthepieceand
it'shistory.IrecentlywentovertotheAirForcemuseuminDayton
overspringbreak.Theyhavesomeofthestationshavepodcasts,butI
thinkanaugmentedrealitywouldbeabettersuitedsinceitcouldfeed
morecontent.
Participantsrecognizedtourism-basedinformationasoneofthemost
potentiallyusefulapplicationsofmobileaugmentedreality.Everyoneinthefocus
groupsawthisasatooltheywouldwanttotakewiththemontheirnextvacationor
usetoexploreanunknowndestinationorcity.Pairedwiththebuiltinnavigational
featuresofasmartphone,severalparticipantsdescribedmobileaugmentedreality
asapersonaltourguide:
IliketheideaofhavingadevicelikethiswhenIwastravelinglast
year.Ihadneverbeentotheplace,anditwouldhavebeengreatto
haveaguidedtourthatcontinuallyupdatesliveinformationlike
trafficflow,highlightsinthecity,thatsortofthing.
Thisconceptofusingmobileaugmentedrealityasapersonaltourguidewas
alsousedasametaphorfordescribinghowthistechnologycouldbeemployedasa
personalshoppingguide:
Ifyoutelltheappwhatyouwant,andtheapppointsoutaroutefor
you...soasyouarewalkingthroughthestore,tellingyouwherethe
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itemsarelocated.Aguidedexperience,likewalkingthroughIKEA...A
virtualtourguideasyouarelookingforyourproducts.
Beingabletouseamobilephoneasashoppingguidewasconceivedasa
valuabletoolforbothconsumersandmarketers.Participantsenvisionedusing
mobileaugmentedrealityforcomparativeshopping,virtuallytryingout
merchandiseandresearchingadditionalinformationaboutaproductbysimply
pointingthecellphonescameraattheitemofinterest.Manyalsorecognizedthe
valuetomarketersandcompanieswhocouldusetheapplicationtoattract
customersbyofferingspecialdealstomobileaugmentedrealityusers.
Otheruses:Inadditiontoinformation-basedservices,severalfocusgroup
memberswerealsoattractedtothenotionofusingmobileaugmentedrealityfor
socialnetworkingandgaming.Studentsexpressedhowessentialsocialnetworking
toolssuchasTwitterandFacebookaretohowtheycommunicatewiththeirpeers.
Participantsconceptualizedusingmobileaugmentedrealityasawaytovirtually
communicateand/ormeetnewpeopleintheirimmediatesurroundings.
Participantssuggestedtheywouldwanttousethistechnologyasameansfor
communicatinganonymouslywithothersontheirdailycommutetoclassorwork.
Theysawthisasaninnovativewayforconnectingtonewpeopleintheir
communities.
Gamingwasalsomentionedbothasanextensionofsocialnetworkingandas
apotentiallyattractivefeatureofmobileaugmentedreality.Youngerstudents,who
didnotownacarand/orhadlimitedspendingmoney,sawmobileaugmented
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realitygamesasacheapandentertainingwaytosocializewithfriends.Other
participantsdescribedmobileaugmentedrealitygamingasavirtualthemeparkin
whichchildrencouldplaywithintheconfinementsoftheirownbackyards.
PrivacyRisks:Theperceivedriskofprivacywhenoperatingamobile
augmentedrealityapplicationwasofsignificantconcerntomanyofthesubjects.
Participantsfearedthattheiractionsandlocationscouldpotentiallybetracked
throughlocation-basedtechnologies:
Ihaveissueswithprivacy;Idon'tuseanyapplicationsthatare
location-basedbecauseIdon'twantpeoplefollowingme.NotthatI'm
afraidofaBigBrotheridea.Butatthesametime,Ilikehavingsome
anonymityofwhereImat.Idon'tthinkitsreallyrelevantthatpeople
knowmywhereabouts.Withaugmentedreality,it'sobviousthat
peoplewouldknowwhereIorotherpeoplearelocated.
Themajorityofparticipantsinthisstudymadeclearthattheywantdirect
controloverwhatinformationmaypotentiallybeshared:
Idowantcontrol.Allofthestoriesthathavecomeoutinthenews
abouttheseprivacyissuesarecausingmetotrusttheseentitiesless
andless.Privacycontrolsabsolutelyneedtobeinvolved.Youneedto
beabletohavetheoptiontoturnoffyourlocation,becauseifyou
don'tyouaregoingtogetpeoplewhodon'tunderstandtherisks
involved.
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Althoughthemajorityofstudentshadconcernsaboutpotentialprivacyrisks,
afewmembersofthisstudyconsidereditanon-issue.Thosewhowereconcerned
however,alsorecognizedthataminimumamountofpersonalinformationsharing
wouldbenecessary.Otherwise,theuserexperiencecouldbesignificantlycrippled.
UserExperiencesandFeedback
Followingthegroupssharingoftheirfirstimpressionsaboutmobile
augmentedreality,theresearchsubjectswereinstructedtotryouttheLayar
applicationontheirownandreportbackinoneweektodiscusstheirexperience.
Participantswereaskedtodiscusswhattheylikedanddislikedaboutthe
application,anyproblemstheyincurred,suggestionsforimprovement,andtheir
desireandwillingnesstousetheapplicationinthefuture.
Afterhavingachancetousetheapplicationforthefirsttime,amajorityof
theparticipantsreportedthattheyhadmixedfeelingsabouttheirexperiences.
Althoughtheylikedtheconceptofmobileaugmentedreality,inpracticethe
applicationleftmuchtobedesired.Participantspointedoutdesign,contextualand
technicallimitationswhichhinderedtheirexperience.Additionally,severalofthe
featurestheyreportedtryingdidnotworkasexpected(oratall),whilethosethat
didwerenotconsideredtobeintuitive:
Ifeelitsnotincrediblyintuitive.Ittookalotofpokingaroundto
figureoutexactlywhatIwasactuallydoing.Iconsideredatmany
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pointstogoonlinetolookupwhatIwasdoingandtrytofindaHow
Toguide.
Otherstudentssharedthissamesentimentandsuggestedthatanin-
applicationhelpguidewouldbebothhelpfulandnecessary,sincethetypesof
interfacesusedformobileaugmentedrealityapplicationsarelikelyunfamiliarto
mostnewusers.
Atutorialwouldbegood,justlikealotofmobilephonegameshave
atutorialoption.Thesamethingwouldworkhere.Thisiswhatyou
cando....evenifyourfirstscreenoptionsareaskingwhatdoyouwant
todo,andlistspecificoptions...youtapthat....thenitguidesyou
throughthatprocess.
Understandinghowtousetheapplicationwasnottheonlyconcern.Byfar,
userinterfaceandinformationdesignproblemswerethemostsignificant
complaintsamongallparticipatingusers.Analysisoftheresponsesrevealedthat
informationoverloadandalackofhierarchybetweendisplayedelementscaused
thegreatesthindrancetousabilityasaresultoftheapplicationsdesign.Other
notablefactorsincludedtechnologicalconstraints,alackofcontentinruralareas,
andagenerallackofcompellingcontent.
Designconcerns: Participantsweredismayedbyhowtheapplication
displayedaugmentedrealitycontent.Althoughtheyfoundtheaestheticsofthe
interfacetobevisuallypleasing,theyalsofounditdifficulttodifferentiatebetween
themultipledatapointsdisplayedonscreen.Thelargerthepoolofcontent
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availablewithintheusersvicinity,theharderitwastonavigatethroughthe
informationdisplayedonscreen.Contentwascontinuallyoverlapping,makingit
nearlyimpossibletoseeoraccesstheinformationthatwascoveredup.Mostofthe
subjectsdescribedthesituationasoverwhelming,especiallywithinlarger
metropolitanareas.Asonestudentdescribes:
IwentdowntowntoIndianapoliscircleandtheapplicationwas
throwinghitsfromeverystoreinthemall.Thescreenonmyphone
wasoverloadedandIwasnteveninthemall!
Evenlimitingthedistanceparameterswithintheapplicationdidnotimprove
theexperience.Anothersubjectexplained:
Idon'tknowwhat'sthebestwaytogoaboutsolvingthatissue,Idid
messwiththeparametersabit,ithelpedsome,butatthesametime
onthelowestareainaheavypopulatedarea,youaregoingtoget
overlap.
Participantsalsosuggestedtheywouldliketoseeoptionsforhidingcontent,
suchasaparticularuserstweetsoraretaillocationtagtheyarenotinterestedin.
Theysaidthismightserveasameansforcombatingtheapplicationsdisplayissues.
Additionally,manyparticipantsconsideredthatitmaybevaluabletoaddlikeand
dislikebuttonsasawayfortheapplicationtolearnwhattypesofcontentauser
mightbeinterestedinandfilteroutanyirrelevantdata.
Technologicalconstraints:Mostsubjectsreportedthatthequalityofthe
applicationsperformanceontheirsmartphoneswaslessthanadequate.Several
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issueswereraised,includingslowerprocessingspeedswhenrunningthe
applicationanddetrimentaleffectsonbatterylife.Severalsubjectsdescribedtheir
experiencesasglitchyandoftenreportedtheincorrectlocationofdata.Asubject
describeshisexperience:
Myphonewouldn'tcalibratepropernorthandsouth.Itrieditouta
coupledifferenttimesanditwouldtellmethatThaiSmilewasthat
way,whileI'mstandingrighttherestaringatit.Idon'tknow,Ireally
hatethingsthatareglitchy,soI'mreallyhesitanttouseitagain.
SubjectssuggestedthataliteversionoftheLayarapplicationshouldbe
released.Theysaidtheyarewillingtoacceptfewerfeaturesinreturnforbetter
hardwareperformanceandbatterylife.Theparticipantswerealsoinagreement
thatthescreensizeofatypicalsmartphoneisinadequateforanapplicationofthis
nature.Oneofthesubjectscommented,Ithinkthescreensizeistoosmalltocram
somuchinformationintoit.Otherssuggestedthatthelargerscreensemployedby
tabletdevicessuchastheiPadwouldbeamoresuitablemediumfordisplaying
augmentedrealitycontent.
Thedesignrespondentssharedthissamesentiment.Smallerscreens,
incombinationwithlimitedtrackingsystemsandalackofcomputingpower,
diminishadesignersabilitytocreateimmersive,three-dimensional
experiences.Instead,designersarelimitedtodevelopingtwo-dimensional
overlaysinathree-dimensionalenvironment,whichdesignersandend-users
findtobelimiting.Displaytechnologiesmustevolvetothepointthata
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seamlesspresentationofaugmentedrealitycontentbecomespossiblewithin
aphysicalspace.Asonedesignerstated,3Dcontentisreallywhatworks
bestforanaugmentedrealityapplication.
Furthermore,bothdesignersarguedthattodaysdisplaytechnologiesoffer
moreofaforcedexperience,ratherthananimmersiveone.Theuserislimitedby
whattheyseeandisforcedtoexperienceaugmentedrealitythroughthe
perspectiveofahand-helddevice,ratherthanthroughtheusersowneyes.Asone
designerexplained:
Whenyouarelookingaroundthroughyourdevice,youarealways
beingmediatedthroughsomething.Youarealwayslookingthrough
thescreen.Thepointoffocusisalwaysthedevice.You'renotreally
experienceaugmentedreality,youareexperiencingatrickonyour
mobilephone.
Inonedesignersopinion,head-worndisplaydeviceswilleventually
maturetothepointthattheywillusurpsmartphonesandtheleadingdisplay
deviceformobileaugmentedrealitycontent.Ahead-worndisplaydevice
wouldbeabletoprovideaseamless,immersiveviewingexperienceand
openthedoortonewformsofinteractivitybasedonphysicalmovement,
ratherthanatouchscreeninterface.
Lackofcontentinruralareas:Incontrasttotheinformationoverload
concernsmanyoftheparticipantshad,severalsubjectsfeltthattheamountof
contentavailablewithinsmallercommunitieswassignificantlylacking.Although
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mostofthesubjectshadtheopportunitytotrytheapplicationinlarger
metropolitancities,nearlyallofthemresideinasmallermid-westerncitywith
approximately70,000citizens.4Subjectsarguedtheywouldbelesslikelyto
regularlyusetheapplicationintheirownneighborhoodsiflocalcontentwas
limited.
Lackofcompellingcontent:Attheconclusionofthestudy,participantswere
askediftheyintendedtouseLayarinthefuture.Eachstatedtheywouldeither
seldomusetheapplication,ornotatall.Despiteitsglitches,thestudentsargued
thattheapplicationitselfofferslittlecompellingcontenttowarrantrepeateduse.
Ratherthanfocusingonstaticcontentsuchaslocation-basedinformation,the
subjectssaidtheywouldbemoreinterestedinseeingnon-staticcontentsuchas
localnews,eventssuchasconcertsandsports,orcurrentspecialsrunbylocal
business.
Likewise,thedesignrespondentsagreedthatexistingapplications
havelittletooffer.Theyblamethislackofqualitycontentonanexistingtop-
downapplicationdevelopmentcyclewherecorporateobjectivesovershadow
theneedforacompellinguserexperience.Intheiropinion,mostmobile
applicationsarebeingemployedasmarketingtools,whichcanbeseenas
overhypedandgimmicky.Aculturedrivenbycontentdevelopersis
necessarytosupportthematurationofthisnewformofinteractionand
4Populationcountasreportedby2010census.
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presentation.Inthemeantime,asonedesignerlaments:Augmentedreality
isgoingtobeareallygimmickyfieldforaverylongtime.
HeuristicEvaluations
Inordertovalidatethedesignlimitationsraisedbythefocusgroup,this
studyemployedaheuristicevaluationprocesstoappraisemobileaugmentedreality
applicationsontheirabilitytoeffectivelypresentinformation.Theevaluationwas
conductedbytheresearcherusinginformationdesignstandardsasevaluative
criteria.AsetofheuristicswasdevisedfromEdwardTuftesprinciplesof
informationdesigntoappraisethemobileapplicationsLayarandJunaioonthe
basisofstructure,presentationanddynamicsintheapplicationsinformation
design(AppendixC).
Forthisstudy,fiveheuristicswereusedtoexaminehowLayarandJunaio
presentaugmentedrealitycontentwithinasmartphonecamerasview.The
researchcomparedhoweachapplicationdisplayedTwitterandWikipediacontent.
Thepurposeofthisevaluationwastoidentifymajorinformationdesignflaws
withinLayarandJuniaothroughtheapplicationoffiveheuristics:
1. Presentsindividualdatapointswithinaframeworkrelatingtoalargercontext;
2. Effectivelylayersandseparatesinformationtoemphasizehierarchyandstructure;
3. Employssmallmultiplesasameansofcomparingdifferencesbetweenrelateddata;
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4. Effectivelyusescolorforinformationdisplaypurposes;5. Integrateswordsandimageseffectively.Althoughusabilityisanimportantcomponentofinteractiveinformation
design,ausabilityevaluationisbeyondthescopeofthisstudy.Usabilitystudiesare
standardpracticeforanyinteractiondesignprojectpriortodeployment.Instead,
thisstudyexaminestheuniqueproblemsmobileaugmentedrealityfaceswhen
visuallypresentinginformation.
Aftertheevaluationwascomplete,10problemareaswereidentifiedas
violationsofestablishedinformationdesignprinciplesandratedaccordingto
severity:
1Designproblemthatoccursinfrequentlyand/orwithminoruserhindrance.
2Moderatedesignproblemthatoccursoccasionallyandmayresultin
readabilityissues.
3Severedesignflawsthatoccursfrequentlyanddamagesthereadabilityof
data.
Issue1:Oversizediconscoverupthebackground(cameraview)andotherdatapoints.
Application:Layar
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
1
Oversizediconscoverup
thebackground(cameraview)andotherdata
points.
3 1,2
Microdesignelementsshould
notovershadowthemain
view.
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Problem:AlthoughthisproblemdoesnotoccurwithintheTwitterandWikipedia
componentsintheapplication,itisworthmentioningsinceitseverelyaffectsother
layerswithintheapplicationsuchasLivespot(Seeimage4.1).Bycoveringupthe
entirescreen,theapplicationviolatesthemicro/macrodesignprinciple.Theminor
detail(restauranticon)overshadowsthemacroviewbyfailingtodisplayits
locationincontexttotheusersvisualperceptionoftheenvironmentasseen
throughthesmartphonescamera.Itisalsoproblematicwhencontentcompletely
coversandeliminatesaccesstootherpointsofinterest;thisisaviolationofTuftes
layeringandseparationprinciple.
Image4.1:LivespotonLayarImage4.2:LayarsBirdsEyeview
Image4.3:RealityviewonLayarImage4.4:TwitteronLayar
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Issue2:Oversizediconscoverupthebackground(cameraview)andotherdatapoints.
Application:Layar
Problem:Layarofferstwooptionsforviewingaugmentedrealitydataincamera
mode:RealityviewandBirdsEyeview.Therealityview(Image4.3)employs
thelayeringandseparationprinciplebypresentingdatapointsinavisualhierarchy
accordingtoitsgeographicalproximitytotheuser.Closerpointsofinterestappear
closerintheforeground,whiledistantlocationpointsareplacedfurtherback.
Additionally,thesubtle,yetnoticeablechangesindotsizesareaneffective
executionofthesmallmultiplesrule.Thesizedifferencesbetweenthedots
representtheirrelativedistancetotheuser,thusmaintaininganaccuratevisual
perspective.Incontrast,thebirdseyeview(Image4.2)failstolayerinformation
pointsappropriatelyinadditiontostrippingmuchofitslocation-basedcontextin
relationtotheusersposition.Furthermore,largedatasets,suchastheonedepicted
inimage4.1,canresultinunnecessarydatapointoverlapping.Thiscanleadto
usabilityissuessinceinformationcanbemissedordifficulttoaccess.
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
2
Birdseyeviewfeature
resultsindatapoint
overlapanddiminishes
location-basedcontext.
2 2
Datashouldbeappropriately
layeredinproximitytothe
userslocation
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Issue3:Difficulttorecognizewhichtweetiscurrentlyselected.
Application:LayarProblem:Asseeninimage4.4,LayarusesTwitteravatarstorepresent
geographicallytaggedtweetswithinthecameraview.Whilethismethodoffersthe
benefitofplacingtweetsincontextwithitscreator,itdoescreateconfusionforthe
user.Theonlywaytodeterminewhichtweetiscurrentlybeingviewedisthesmall
arrowconnectedtothecorrespondingdialogboxandtheidenticalavatarimage
locatedwithin.Thisistheresultofalackofseparationbetweenotherdisplayed
avatarimages.AbetterapproachwouldbetomodelitaftertheWikipedialayer
(Image4.3),whichrepresentsWikipediaentriesasconsistentvisualicons,while
separatingselecteddatapointsbyachangeincolor.
Issue4:Avisualdisconnectexistsbetweendatapointsandtheirrelatedtextand/orimages.
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
3
Difficulttorecognize
whichtweetiscurrently
selected
2 2,3
Selectedobjectsshouldbe
highlighted.Iconsshouldbe
simple,andconsistent.
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
4
Avisualdisconnectexistsbetweendatapointsand
theirrelatedtextand/or
images
2 5
Datapointsshouldhave
strongvisualassociationswith
relatedimagesandtext.
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Application:Layar
Problem:Layarlooselypresentstextandimagesrelatingtoapointofinterestby
meansofastaticdialogboxlocatedalwaysatthebottomofthescreen.Content
appearinginsidetheboxisdependentonwhichdatapointiscurrentlybeing
viewed.Theapplicationemploysasmallarrowthatpointsatthehighlighteddotto
createavisualassociation.(images4.3,4.4)Althoughthispresentationformloosely
adherestotheintegratingwordsandimagesprinciple,itdoescreatean
unnecessaryburdenfortheuserwhoistaskedtoassociaterelatedcontentby
meansofasubtlevisualclue.Thisproblemisparticularlytroublesomewhenit
occursinconjunctionwithissue3.
Image4.5:Layar(4.0)dialogboxImage4.6:Layar(3.0)dialogbox
Issue5:Largetextboxestakeupaconsiderableamountofscreenrealestate.
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
5
Largetextboxestakeup
aconsiderableamount
ofscreenrealestate.
2 1,2
Thedisplayofsecondary
contentshouldnotoverpower
theframeworkofthebigger
scene.
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Application:Layar
Problem:DialogboxesinLayar(version4.0)takeupone-thirdoftheavailable
screenrealestate,thusdiminishingtheenvironmentalview.Tufteslayeringand
separationprinciplesuggeststhiscontentrequiresadditionalvisualemphasissince
ittakespriorityoverothercontentonscreen.However,thisexecutionunnecessarily
obscurestheusersviewbycoveringupotherdatapointsandtheirsurroundings.
Furthermore,theinformationpresentedwiththedialogboxispoorlylaidout,
resultinginawasteofpreciousspaceonthesmallscreen.EarlierversionsofLayar
weremoreconservativeinthedialogboxdesign.Version3.0dialogboxdesigns
(Image4.6)presentedonlybasicidentificationinformationinone-sixthofthe
availablescreenspace.Ifauserwantedmoreinformation,shecouldopenan
expandeddialogboxthatoverlaysontopofthecameraview.Thisdisplayoption
appropriateslayeredcontenttoestablishvisualdominancebydimmingthe
background.
Issue6:Whitetextonbrightcoloredbackgroundsdifficulttoread.
Application:Layar
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
6
Whitetextonbright
coloredbackgrounds
difficulttoread.
1 4Poorcolorselectionandlack
ofcontrast.
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Problem:Brightlycoloredbackgroundscanmakewhitetypeillegible.Thisisnota
consistentproblemwithintheLayarapplication,sinceeachlayeremploysdifferent
visualstyles.However,whenitdoesoccur,thesmalltypesize,combinedwithalack
ofcontrastwiththebackground,makesthetextespeciallyhardtoread.Tufte
suggeststhatdesignersavoidbrightlycoloredbackgroundsforthisveryreason,
sinceitcausestoomuchvisualdistortion.Instead,designersshoulduseearthtones
suchaslightercolorsofblue,yellowandgraywithblacktype.
Issue7:User-interfacecontrolsdonotorientcorrectlywhenviewinginlandscapemode.
Application:Junaio
Problem:Whenswitchingfromportraittolandscapemode,thenavigational
interfaceelementsdonotreorienttoconformtothenewview(image4.7).Thisis
moreofausabilityissue,butitalsopresentsaflawintheinformationdesignasit
hindersthereadabilityofpresentedinformation.Thesmallmultiplesprinciple
suggeststhatrepeatednavigationaldevicessuchaslinks,arrows,oriconsshould
maintainaconsistentdesign.Failingtoorientnavigationalelementscorrectlyis
bothvisuallyunappealingandunnecessarilyburdenstheuser.
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
7
User-interfacecontrols
donotorientcorrectly
whenviewingin
landscapemode.
3 3
Userinterfaceshouldbe
consistentthroughoutthe
application.
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Image4.7:Junaio
Issue8:User-interfacecontrolsdonotorientcorrectlywhenviewinginlandscapemode.
Application:Junaio
Problem:Whenoperatingtheapplicationinlandscapemode,expandeddialog
boxesdisplaytextsideways.Thisproblemistheresultofthesamedesignflawas
issue7.Inthisinstance,thepooralignmentoftextcreatessignificantreadability
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
8
Expandeddialogboxes
arepresentedsideways
whenusingapplication
inlandscapemode.
3 5Textpresentedsidewaysis
difficulttoread.
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issues,thusbreakingtheprincipleofintegratingwordseffectively.Largeamountsof
copyshouldneverbeorientedonitsside,asitmakesthetextdifficulttoread.
Issue9:Radarsizeisinadequateforpresentingsurroundinginformationin360degrees.
Application:Junaio
Problem:Theradargraphic(seeimage4.7)usedtodisplaynearbypointsof
interestwithina360-degreeradiusoftheuseristoosmall.Thereisnotenough
separationbetweenelementstoadequatelygaugethedistancebetweenthem.
Layarsexecutionoftheradarnavigationalelementwouldbemoreappropriately
size(image4.4).
Issue10:Textdisplayedwithinindividualdatapointsisdifficulttoread.
Application:Junaio
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
9
Radarsizeisinadequate
forpresenting
surroundinginformation
in360degrees.
2 3Difficulttoseparatecontent
effectivelyonasmallerscale.
# ProblemSeverity
Rating
Heuristic
NumberBroadHeuristic
10
Textdisplayedwithin
individualdatapointsisdifficulttoread. 1 4
Reversingtypeoutofdark
backgroundsrequiresstrong
colorcontrastandlargertypesizes.
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Problem:IncontrasttoLayar,theJunaioapplicationemploysatighterintegration
ofwordsandimagesusingthedialogboxesthemselvesasgeographicallypinned
data.ThisexecutionoffersmanyadvantagesoverLayarsinceitdoesnot
unnecessarilyburdenthereaderwithhavingtovisuallyassociateseparate
components.However,theexecutioncoulduserefinementofthecolorofthetext.
Whitetext,insteadofgrayoverthedarktranslucentbackgroundwouldprovide
greatercontrast,therebymakingthetexteasiertoread.
Conclusion
Accordingtotherespondents,mobileaugmentedrealityisacompelling
mediumfordisplayingvisualinformation.Participantsinthisstudyseemobile
augmentedrealityasanimmersivetoolforengagingeverydayinformationina
morepersonalcontext.Howeverinitspresentform,mobileaugmentedrealityis
lackinginfunctionalityanddesirability.Userstudiesanddesignevaluationssuggest
thatmobileaugmentedrealityislimitedbypoorinformationdisplayfactorsand
technologicallimitationsofmobiledevices.Furthermore,thereisalackof
compellingcontentandanoverhypedpushbycorporationsandmarketers.
Despitetheselimitations,theparticipantsinthisstudyagreedthatmobile
augmentedrealityhaspotential.However,itneedstimetomature.Asonestudent
concluded,Iseepotentialinthis,butit'sjustlikeanythingelse,it'sjustgoingto
taketimebeforeitfindsitsniche.
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CHAPTER5:DISCUSSION
Thisthesispostulatedthatausabilityanddesignanalysisisafeasibleand
usefulmethodforcomprehendingthevalueofmobileaugmentedrealityasavehicle
forthevisualcommunicationofpersonallyrelevantinformation.Toascertainthis
theory,thefollowingquestionswereposedandansweredbymeansofuserstudies,
questionnairesandapplicationevaluations.
RQ1:Whataremobileaugmentedrealityusers'impressionsofthetechnology
beforeandafterusingitforthefirsttime?
Userswelcometheideaofmobileaugmentedrealitywithopenarms.They
recognizeitspotentialforrevolutionizingsocialmediaandinformationservicesby
connectingwithcontentonamo
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