Augmented Human by Helen Papagiannis

Author:Helen Papagiannis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Published: 2017-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

One way to move beyond novelty and create meaningful experiences is to connect with the user contextually. “Aura” is another term that is linked to presence. Researchers Blair Macintyre, Maribeth Gandy, and Jay David Bolter define aura as the combination of an object’s or place’s “cultural and personal significance for a user or group of users.”9 They note that all aura is personal because it describes an individual’s psychological response to an object or place and that the personal nature of aura is essential because “aura can only exist if the individual can connect the object or place to his or her own understanding of the world.”10 Part of the power of context in Entryway is the combination of the real world (such as an object or place) and the personalized context that you bring to it: your memories, your stories, and your experiences.

It is my opinion that aura will come to affect presence more so in this second wave of AR because it will be more tailored to personalized experiences for the user based on her preferences and unique context. Macintyre et al. introduce the work of researchers in the BENOGO (Being There Without Going) project who are studying the uniqueness of physical locations in order to create “more compelling” VR experiences. In respect to presence in VR, they suggest that research in this area has been hindered by typical “generic” visual worlds in VR applications and that the best method of achieving presence is to place the user in a meaningful context, an approach that they call “contextualized presence.”

In a talk at The Stanford Center for Image System Engineering in May 2017, AR pioneer Ronald Azuma shared his thoughts on AR storytelling expressing his belief (one with which I fully agree) that the new compelling experiences in AR will be where you have a meaningful combination of and connection between the real and the virtual. “Because if all the power just comes from reality, then why bother with augmentation? And, if all of the power comes from just the virtual stuff, why do AR? Why not just VR?”

Azuma shared the example of Reality Fighters, a PlayStation Vita AR video game by Sony Computer Entertainment (2012). He explained how the game used reality as a backdrop without any real connection to the uniqueness of the physical surroundings. To connect reality to the game, and create a more immersive experience, he suggested enabling the fighter to use a real chair from the environment to attack the other character, or integrating a brick wall from the real world into the game to help defend from an attack.

Azuma discussed AR storytelling strategies in his talk, two of which, Reinforcing and Remembering, are particularly relevant here to aura and contextualized presence.

The strategy of Reinforcing acknowledges a real location that is inherently strong whether you augment it or not. You can augment it in an appropriate manner that attaches to the realities of that place and builds an experience that together is more impactful.

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