Technology, especially the smartphone, is villainized for taking meaning and time away from in-person interactions and secluding people into "digital bubbles". We believe this is not an intrinsic property of digital gadgets, but evidence of a lack of imagination in technology design. Leveraging augmented reality (AR) toward this end allows us to create experiences for multiple people, their pets, and their environments. In this work, we explore the design of AR technology that "piggybacks" on everyday leisure to foster co-located interactions among close ties (with other people and pets. We designed, developed, and deployed three such AR applications, and evaluated them through a 41-participant and 19-pet user study. We gained key insights about the ability of AR to spur and enrich interaction in new channels, the importance of customization, and the challenges of designing for the physical aspects of AR devices (e.g., holding smartphones). These insights guide design implications for the novel research space of co-located AR.
翻译:科技(尤其是智能手机)因夺走人与人之间面对面的互动和隔离人们在“数字泡泡”中而受到谴责。我们认为这不是数字设备的固有属性,而是技术设计中缺乏想象力的证据。利用增强现实(AR)可以创造出多人、宠物和环境之间的体验。在这项工作中,我们探讨了AR技术的设计,这些设计可以“背靠背”所有日常休闲活动,以促进亲密关系之间的联合互动(与其他人和宠物)。我们设计、开发和部署了三个这样的AR应用程序,并通过41个参与者和19个宠物的用户研究进行了评估。我们获得了关于AR能够激发和丰富新渠道交互的关键见解、定制的重要性以及为AR设备的物理方面(如握住智能手机)设计所面临的挑战。这些见解为背靠背式AR的新研究空间提供了设计启示。