UX Researcher / Architect
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A Usability Study of Augmented Reality Apps at Historic Sites

A Usability Study of Augmented Reality Apps at Historic Sites

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Date of Project: June 2015- December 2016

Role: User Researcher

Methods Used:  Ethnography, Contextual Inquiry, Survey, Questionnaire, Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses

Deliverable: Research report, Presentation at SUNY Oswego QUEST Day

 
 
 

About The Project

The emergence of the Internet and mobile devices has provided connectivity so strong that there is now a constant flow of data worldwide. The new challenge is to provide information that is contextual. A single handheld device can solve problems regarding simple arithmetic or complex navigation with a few taps and clicks. 

Technology can assist in providing contextual information about historic sites such as how structures originally looked, events that occurred, and insight into how people once lived. Augmented Reality (AR) provides a new mode of communicating this information.


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​The Problem + Goal

While AR is being used to enhance learning in many ways, there seemed to be a lack of research relating AR to historical sites and tours. For this project, the main objective was to investigate usability issues associated with the AR application Aurasma (which has since been rebranded as HP Reveal) for smartphones and the effect on visitors at the historic site of Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York. 

Aurasma is a free Augmented Reality application for iOS or Android mobile devices, which uses digital overlays of 3D environments to create a heightened and interactive experience for users. A user can hold their device up to an image, building, location, or scene and Aurasma will recognize the static image and automatically play the overlay video. Software on the phone tracks an image on the screen and replaces said image with a video (Edwards, 2013).  

Possible advantages of using AR apps at historic sites include:

  • Giving the user freedom to choose what they’d like to learn more about, creating a more personalized experience than from a tour guide alone

  • Aiding in the visualization of structures and life at the fort in the past and present

  • No additional equipment cost for the site since visitors use their own smartphones


Methodology

Participants included twenty-two randomly selected visitors to the fort who were asked to use the application and provide self-reported feedback through questionnaires. Their reactions/ interactions with the application were also observed.

Variables to Record

  • Time for Location Recognition

  • Initial Device Orientation

  • Orientation Adjustment

  • Assistance for Adjustment

  • Final Device Orientation

  • Completion of Video

  • Observed Body Language with the Device

  • Observed Facial Expression

  • Total Time for Task Completion

Procedure

  1. Conduct a pre-experiment demographic survey

  2. Usability study of AR app: Visitors were given a smartphone with the Aurasma app preloaded to use

  3. Observe and record

  4. Post-experiment survey evaluating ease of use, satisfaction, new information learned, preference of indoor vs. outdoor implementation and preference of app experience over a conventional tour guide.


Results

Analyzed the observed behaviors, and survey responses and performed a Wilcoxon Signed-ranks Test to test the significance of each variable.

Participants/ Visitors:

  • Said it felt natural to hold the device in front of a point of interest

  • Started out using the app with their phones in portrait orientation (only a few switched to landscape)

  • Reported use of the app to be very easy

  • Self-reports of feeling excited and happy to use the app, and having learned more information

  • Slightly over half of all participants preferred this method of tour over a traditional tour guide

    • Older participants preferred a human guide over a digital one


Outcome

Awarded Sigma Xi's Excellence in Presentation of Scientific Research Award at SUNY Oswego's QUEST Day (April 2016). 

This project was touched on in Dr. Damian Schofield’s TEDx talk, hosted at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, NY, and is awaiting publication.