cooper, daniel:user and design perspectives of mobile augmented reality

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


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


3

Difficulttorecognize

whichtweetiscurrently

selected

2 2,3

Selectedobjectsshouldbe

highlighted.Iconsshouldbe

simple,andconsistent.

# ProblemSeverity

Rating

Heuristic


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


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


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


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


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


9

Radarsizeisinadequate

forpresenting

surroundinginformation

in360degrees.

2 3Difficulttoseparatecontent

effectivelyonasmallerscale.

# ProblemSeverity

Rating

Heuristic


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

cooper, daniel:user and design perspectives of mobile augmented reality

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