“See with the app's eyes what your real eyes cannot see”: design potentials for Mobile Augmented Reality at home

Abstract

Immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality afford to enrich the physical environment with a layer of digital information, providing new experiences that can support and improve the daily life of people in their homes. We present insights from a field study with nine families to understand user experience and expectations of Mobile Augmented Reality at home and reveal emerging designs. We deployed a mobile application that provided a contextual representation of the WiFi signal through visualizations integrated in the physical space. Each family lived with the prototype for one week, with a pre- and post-study interview session. We found that Augmented Reality has potential to (1) foster people's autonomy and control (e.g., configuration of technology and problem solving), as well as (2) enhance people's knowledge and awareness about domestic technology (e.g., understanding technical terms and awareness of invisible infrastructures).