Augmented reality (AR) is an experience where designers enhance parts of users’ physical world with computer-generated input. Designers create inputs—ranging from sound to video, to graphics to GPS overlays and more—in digital content, which responds in real-time to changes in the user’s environment, typically movement.
See the differences between Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality here.
AR’s Place in the World of Extended Reality
Augmented reality has science-fiction roots dating to 1901. However, Thomas Caudell described the term as a technology only in 1990 while designing to help Boeing workers visualize intricate aircraft systems. A major advance came in 1992 with Louis Rosenberg’s complex Virtual Fixtures AR system for the US Air Force. AR releases followed in the consumer world, notably the ARQuake game (2000) and the design tool ARToolkit (2009). The 2010s witnessed a technological explosion—for example, with Microsoft’s HoloLens in 2015—that stretched beyond AR in the classical sense, while AR software became increasingly sophisticated, popular and affordable.
The term XR includes AR, MR, VR, and any technology that blends the physical and the digital world.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
Under the umbrella term extended reality (XR), AR differs from virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR). Some confusion exists, notably between AR and MR. Especially amid the 2020s’ technology boom, considerable debate continues about what each term covers. In user experience (UX) design, you have:
AR: You design for digital elements to appear over real-world views, sometimes with limited interactivity between them, often via smartphones. Examples include Apple’s ARKit and Android’s ARCore (developer kits), the Pokémon Go game.
VR: You design immersive experiences that isolate users from the real world, typically via headset devices. Examples include PSVR for gaming, Oculus and Google Cardboard, where users can explore, e.g., Stonehenge using headset-mounted smartphones.
MR: You design to combine AR and VR elements so digital objects can interact with the real world; therefore, you design elements anchored to a real environment. Examples include Magic Leap and HoloLens, which users can use, e.g., to learn more directly how to fix items.
Because of the slight overlap regarding interactivity, brands sometimes use AR interchangeably with MR. “Augmented reality” remains popular—despite the point that the original sense of AR design is overlaying digital elements upon real-world views, e.g., GPS filters/overlays on smartphone screens so users can find directions from street views. So, digital elements are merely superimposed on real-world views, not anchored directly to them: The computer-generated content can’t interact with the real-world elements users see—unlike in MR. The HoloLens is MR, for instance, because it interprets the space in a room and combines digital objects with the user’s physical environment.
How Does AR Work?
Augmented reality combines real-world sensory input with computer-generated real-time content using SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping).
The three stages a device goes through to display AR content.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
This process involves three main steps:
Sensing and Tracking: The AR device senses the environment with cameras, accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS, and even lasers to track the position and orientation of the user and their device.
Image Processing and Recognition: The system analyzes the sensor data and identifies objects or features in the environment that can be augmented. The device uses image processing and recognition algorithms to identify and track objects in real time.
Rendering and Display: The final step is to generate and display the computer-generated content on top of the real-world environment. This step renders and displays virtual objects in the correct perspective and position relative to the user's viewpoint. To the user it should seem as if the objects are really there, like a hologram.
AR’s Expanding Appeal and Potential
AR designers made considerable strides in the 2010s—a decade full of invaluable AR lessons and examples while the required sensors became cheaper.
Pokémon GO is noteworthy, a GPS-oriented, social AR app that “inserts” Pokémon characters into users’ environments so users can find and capture them on device screens.
Google’s AR stickers are another prime example; users drop realistic images into their camera shots. Users find AR particularly appealing for its entertainment value. Still, AR’s mainstream future appears assured across a wide range of applications, including education inside museums. With AR applications, you can bring experiences closer to users in their environments through designs that are more directly engaging, personalized and—indeed—fun. Storytelling is a great way to achieve this.
“Augmented reality is going to change everything.”
— Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO
How to Take Digitalized Steps in the Analogue World
A UX designer for AR needs to understand context of use, which refers to the specific situation or environment in which the users will use AR technology.
In this video, Frank Spillers, founder of UX consultancy Experience Dynamics, covers the key characteristics of context of use that you should consider to create successful AR experiences.
To design successful experiences for AR consider:
Safety: Remember users’ real-world contexts; don’t distract/mislead them into danger.
Overkill: Beware of drowning users’ senses with meaningless data; keep experiences contextualized.
Environment: Unlike desktop experiences, AR happens anywhere. So, the aim is primarily for users’ contexts regarding whether they’re outdoors/indoors and moving/static. Whatever their setting, users expect pleasurable, user-friendly experiences. AR UX’s Rob Manson stipulates user scenarios:
Public: Interacting with software, using the entire body
Personal: Using smartphones in public spaces
Intimate: Sitting, using a desktop
Private: Using a wearable
Comfort: Make comfortable designs to prevent physical strains and reduce cognitive load.
Security: AR data is rich, so design to ensure users’ data is secure.
How to Get Started with AR
Familiarize yourself with AR terminology, such as spatial cognition, bodystorming, Field of View and task load.
Constantly ask “Where are users?” and how they’ll apply and adopt your design.
Remember physical limitations—users hold devices longer while seated, etc.
Make interfaces automatic so users needn’t be prompted with commands. Consider voice controls.
Use AR-software-creating resources optimally (e.g., Apple’s ARKit).
Offer easy onboarding.
Provide clues and maximum predictability.
Prioritize screen real estate.
Design for accessibility.
Design animations where you consider how frame rates and processing power impact device compatibility.
Ensure your design interprets and responds to users’ head and body movements so users can act intuitively and freely without giving commands.
Ultimately, understand what users—in various contexts—expect before you try to meet the experience demands. Do user testing that covers all feasible conditions (lighting, weather, etc.).
