The Usability of Augmented Reality
Summary: AR features in mobile apps are plagued by usability issues such as poor discoverability and findability of items with AR, low-visibility instructions, or vague icons and signifiers.
Augmented reality (AR) enhances the real world with an additional layer of information. This novel technology has great potential and applications in various contexts and domains. However, designers and practitioners have limited guidelines and principles for successfully designing and implementing AR experiences.
We conducted a mobile usability-testing study with 4 remote and 7 in-person participants to get insights into issues and opportunities surrounding the user experience of mobile AR apps. For this study, we tested variety of AR applications from various domains such as fitness, entertainment, ecommerce, tourism, art and history, education, and science.
This article is the third in a 3-part series discussing the user experience of augmented-reality features in mobile apps. The first article talks about onboarding users in an AR app; the second article presents recommendations for guiding users through the process of calibration.
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