Augmented Human

Chapter 9. Growing the Possibilities

The first wave of Augmented Reality (AR) begged the question, “Can we do this?” The primary focus was placed on the technology, not on content or experience design.

The second wave of AR asks, “Now that we know we can do this, what will we do with the technology?” The emphasis has shifted to applying the technology to create meaningful experiences for the user.

As AR has evolved, uses of the technology have emerged that demonstrate AR’s experiential power. Some of the examples in this chapter are new, and the others are ones we’ve seen in previous chapters. Here, I tie them all together with a list of AR experience categories I’ve identified as I see them in the field to date, and conclude with how artists and a sense of wonderment can help point the way to growing the possibilities for AR as a new immersive experience medium.

1. AR as a Visualization Experience

As a visualization experience, AR is applied to make a transformation possible, evidencing a “before and after” state that temporarily departs from the present moment. Experiences in this category are typically visualized in situ to give greater meaning to the transformation by placing it in context.

The future is often depicted in this experience category; however, the past can also be shown, as with AR historical recreations and cultural heritage projects like Archeoguide at Greece’s Olympia archaeological site. With Archeoguide, historical monuments are visualized to show the way ...