Augmented Reality: Beyond UsabilityDr. Pamela Rutledge Director, Media Psychology Research Center

July 16, 2012

WORLDCOMP EEE'12 - The 2012 International Conference on e-Learning, e-Business, Enterprise Information Systems, and e-Government

@pamelarutledge

Augmented Reality:

Virtual information superimposed over reality to add value or ‘augment’ experience

Virtual information: Down lines, player number, 3rd & 5 arrow added to enhance viewer experience of game

What Drives Success?

Success Depends upon User Experience

User Experience > Usability

1st Wave: Hardware

2nd Wave: Software

3rd Wave: Usability

4th Wave:

Engagement

Source: HFI International

Usability is no longer a key differentiator

The future is engagement

Overview:

1. Define engagement

2. Need for holistic evaluation

3. The 3-brain model

4. How brain theory fits with Flow

5. Story to achieve optimal engagement

6. Flow versus narrative immersion

7. The Positive Engagement Evaluation Model

Usability is not what gets a customer or user to buy or act

Engagement

Persuasion

Trust

Motivation

Transaction

What isengagement?

And why does it matter?

21st Century Infrastructure: Mobile

You use technology to satisfy your needs.

You design technology to facilitate human behaviors

and goals.

People process experience holistically Experience

Goals

Emotions

SensesInstincts

Beliefs

Engagement starts here

Conscious

Emotional Brain

Reptilian Brain

Subconscious

New Brain

Three in One

Sight

Sound

Taste

Smell

Touch

Goals are narrative structures

My Store: AR Dressing Room

AR College Recruiting Brochure

Old: Instinct and Emotion

• Relevance

• Pain or Gain/Threat or Reward

• Control

• Pattern Recognition

• Feelings and Attachment

• Creates emotional context

• Activates memories

New Brain: Conscious Thought

• Identity and sense of self

• Skill-building and logic

• Social collaboration

• Empathy

• Planning

• Validation

OLD BRAIN NEW BRAINEmotions Skill-building

Visual images Responsive feedbackPain and gain Participation, ownership

User-centric, personal Social validationCertainty Empathy

Narrative

Nature

Nurture

Benefit for Designers:

Model identifies how to target each part of the brain for maximum impact

AR Amplifies Effects

• Expands the user’s sensory perceptions

• Creates immediacy and relevance

• Shifts locus of control

• Enhances meaning and engagement

• Triggers macro- and micro-persuasive effects

Flow:The theory of optimal engagement

• Challenging activity requiring skill

• Merging of action and awareness

• Clear goals with feedback

• Concentration on activity

• Sense of control

• Loss of self-consciousness and time

Challenge

Skill

Boredom

Anxiety

Apathy

Relaxation

ControlWorry

Arousal

Flow

Emotional Dimensions of Flow

Challenge

Skill

Flow Channel

High Arousal

Low Arousal

Boredom

Anxiety

Challenge

Skill

Flow Channel

High Arousal

Low Arousal

Boredom

Anxiety Notional

User Path

Challenge

Skill

Boredom

Anxiety Flow StateHigh

Arousal

Low Arousal

Decreasing Challenge

Less Demanding

Skills

Increasing Challenge

Increasing Skills

Challenge

Skill

Flow Channel

High Arousal

Low Arousal

Boredom

Anxiety

Flow Exit Point

Flow Exit Point

Loss Of Sense Of Time

Clear Goal

Sense Of Accomplishment

Experience Of Place

Empathy

Lack Of Self

Consciousness and Physical Surroundings

Identity-Enhancing

Activity

Overt Narrative And Characters

Conscious Directed Focus Conscious Sense of Presence

Emotion-Enhancing Activity

Flow vs. Narrative

FLOW NARRATIVE

Design Objectives

Task-Based Flow

Experience-Based Narrative

Evaluation Model Assumptions

• Attention comes before engagement

• Designers need guidelines to identify

psychological drivers underlying Flow and

Narrative engagement

• Flow increases focus on task-based goals

• Narrative increases focus on experiential goals

• Engagement is a holistic experience

Device Properties: Interaction Design Functionality Content Narrative Structure

Unconscious ProcessingAttention: Movement, novelty, pattern recognition, threat, rewardPerception: Sensory activation, Sensory stimuli congruent with content

Conscious Processing

OPTIMAL USER EXPERIENCE

Task-BasedSelf-Relevance

• Goal importanceConcentration

• Challenge manageable• Feedback • Action = Expectations• Self-efficacy

Immersion• Directed focus• Social validation

Narrative-BasedSelf-Relevance

• Image enhancementConcentration

• Creative ambiguity• Feedback • Action = Discovery• Self-efficacy

Immersion• Emotional activation• Narrative transportation• Social connection

8 Domains:1. Goals

2. Attention

3. Concentration

4. Interaction

5. Content

6. Identity

7. Social Connection

8. Emotional Outcome

User Experience

Designer Intention

Summary• User experience = engagement

• Usability is no longer a differentiator

• Singularly focused assessment approaches aren’t enough

• 3-brain model applies neuroscience to design

• Flow is a framework for optimal engagement in task-based projects

• Narrative theory is a framework for optimal engagement in

experiential-based projects

• AR amplifies the impact of design decisions (better & worse)

• The distinction between task and narrative based product goals

makes a difference

• Evaluation must embrace a holistic, user-centric approach  

Resources

This presentation was based on the following papers.

Neal, M. (2012). Creating and Maintaining a Psychological Flow State in Augmented Reality

Applications. Paper presented at the 2012 EEE International Conference on e-Learning, e-

Business, Enterprise Information Systems, and e-Government, Las Vegas, NV.

Rutledge, P. B. (2012). Augmented Reality: Brain-based Persuasion Model. Paper presented at

the 2012 EEE International Conference on e-Learning, e-Business, Enterprise Information

Systems, and e-Government, Las Vegas, NV.

Rutledge, P. B., & Neal, M. (2012). A New Model for the Evaluation of Interactive and Immersive

Media. Paper presented at the 2012 EEE International Conference on e-Learning, e-Business,

Enterprise Information Systems, and e-Government, Las Vegas, NV.

Thank You

Dr. Pamela Rutledge Director, Media Psychology Research Center

For copies of the slides or papers, please email pamelarutledge@gmail.com or send me an DM via Twitter @pamelarutledge

July 16, 2012