Augmented Environments Lab

Abstract
We propose the term aura to enrich the current language for designing and analyzing media experiences, especially when using augmented reality, mixed reality and ubiquitous computing technology. Aura describes the cultural and personal significance that a place (or object) holds for an individual. An MR application can exploit aura to make the user’s experience more compelling or educationally rewarding. Aura provides a necessary complement to the concepts of presence, which is commonly used to evaluate VR applications, and of place, which refers to the more generic significance of places, particularly in CSCW applications. We use the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia to illustrate the concept of aura. A number of research questions about the relationship of aura, presence, and place are suggested.
Reference:
Blair MacIntyre, Jay David Bolter, and Maribeth Gandy (2004) “Presence and the Aura of Meaningful Places” 7th Annual International Workshop on Presence (PRESENCE 2004), Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain, 13-15 October 2004.

Abstract
Designers of digital applications that deal with complicated infrastructures in the physical world often deal with the formidable challenges of working in a specific place. During development and testing, the designer must constantly move around the physical space to debug or test new interactions. In outdoor settings, factors such as weather, poor work ergonomics, and the lack of power and networking are serious impediments for designers. Our strategy is to use a flexible capture/playback infrastructure, which is tightly integrated into a design environment for prototyping physical applications. We are able to capture the sensor data necessary to design and test applications that can then be easily deployed to the real environment. We will demonstrate this approach within the context of DART (the Designer’s Augmented Reality Toolkit) by showing how augmented reality applications (such as mocking up the placement of information displays) can be quickly prototyped and tested using captured data sets. The capture/playback method breaks the requirement that sensors be used synchronously, in real-time, in the actual location. The flexible programming environment of Director, used by DART, will allow us to demonstrate this design process to conference attendees.

Full Reference:
Steven Dow, Blair MacIntyre, Maribeth Gandy, and Jay David Bolter. “Prototyping Applications for the Physical World Using Integrated Capture/Playback Facilities.” UbiComp (UBICOMP04) demo, September 7-10, 2004, Nottingham, U.K..

Abstract
This paper provides a brief introduction to outdoor AR and the necessary technologies, and discusses its use as a new medium for exploring historic sites.  We describe how the students in an AR Design class transform the Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta into a platform that represents multiple points in southern history, including the American civil war. We present example projects from the most recent semester class, and some observations on designing AR experiences for historic sites.

Full Reference:
Blair MacIntyre (2004) “Bringing History Alive: Dramatic Augmented Reality Experiences in Historic Settings”, presented at the Consortium for Computers in the Humanities and Canadian Historical Association meetings at the Canadian Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, June 1 and June 5, 2004.