AR Use Cases

From Ardevcamp

This page is drawn from the AR Wave: Use Cases wave, which is where future live discussion will be taking place. Here, we will try to refine and present a variety of use cases that emerge from the cauldron of conversation.

As proposed by Joe Lamantia, the use cases are grouped by an interaction type (viewing, creating, socially publishing) paired with an Augmented Reality content type (spatial or non-spatial). Spatial augmented reality content heavily references stable locative information (GIS, etc.). Non-spatial content is less geo-spatially static, and more framed in reference to people, products, or ideas.

When contributing to this, please append your name to fresh additions for easy contact and follow-up questions. Most uncredited use cases are by Tish Shute.

Viewing Spatial AR Content

Historical environmental overlays showing how a city used to be

Proposed construction work showing future changes to a structure

Seeing pipes, cables and other invisible elements that can help builders and engineers do their work.

Seeing arrows hovering showing you where various buildings and public facilities are located.

A view of the constellations correct for the location and time of day/year.

Static skins of specific buildings or locations with scifi/fantasy themes, such as a Discworld-themed view of your town.

Environmental data about a company's impact hovering above its buildings.

Traffic Projection: displaying the probable traffic conditions at some set point in the future, based on historical analysis and current traffic trends. Designed to help drivers plan rest stops, and to help prospective renters/homeowners evaluate a realtor's claim of "light traffic in the evening." (Matthieu Pierce)

Device Channels: for drivers, visualisation in gps/phone/media displays or projected onto windshields. For ambulatory use, smartphones with visual overlay and historical or procedually-generated audio samples.

Social pathfinding: displaying multiple paths, differentiated by previous travellers' demographics (interests, time of travel, number of concurrent travelers). These paths can either be bound by set destinations or by set departing locations, or simply by selected user attributes. (Matthieu Pierce) Sample use case queries:

"Where do show attendees tend to go after the concert downtown?"
"How do people who like architecture make their way to the park?"
"What was the route of that bike rally a few months ago?"
"What are the stomping grounds of AR Devs in Colorado Springs after 6 P.M.?"

Device channels: OpenStreetMap/Google Maps layer, smartphone overlay, printed use maps for posting, public displays in social spaces (early examples of which are are the bar scenes, libraries, and college student centers)

Viewing Non-Spatial AR Content

Environmental data about a company's impact, overlaid on their products.

3D pets that can follow you about, and that others can see too (if they wish).

An avatar you can overlay on yourself or your clothing.

The ability to type a document in a window hovering in front of you, and then to "pass" it to a friend to take a look at. (The

"passing" dosnt have to be literal, the point is merely the document should be visible by who you want, without needing to send a file)

The ability to playback non-geo specific data from a previous time. (For example, environmental impact of a company from a few years back).

Creating Spatial AR Content

Creating personal markers above certain locations. (eg, a friends house, or a coffee shop you want to meet your friends)

Creating annotations/reviews tied for local restuarants which you could share publicly, or just for your friends and family.

Shops posting their current special offers above their buildings, or if a cafe of venue has a live band they could post the information above.

People adding their personal contributions to shares "skins" of the world to suit their fandom

The creation of artworks, both 2d and 3d at specific locations about town.

For a visionary view of how I picture future 3D AR layers to be sculpted, I recommend this 8min film. The Arn itself would not act as a 3d modeling software, its merely a transport system. However, future 3d software should be able to post and changed data on the arn. (Thomas Wrobel)

Creating Non-Spatial AR Content

Designing and digital clothing to overlay on yourself.

Social Publishing of Spatial AR Content

Political canvassing maps overlaid on residential locales (such as the front door and/or sidewalk exit) and/or individuals, indicating acceptable hours for contact, subjects of interest, and prior contact history. Think an intensely immediate and detailed application of the Obama campaign's Neighbor to Neighbor/Voter Profile system. (Matthieu Pierce)

Device channels: smartphones overlay the information as above, feature phones receive details via SMS after the canvasser sends an address via SMS to the central service, and stationary devices such as laptops present an overhead "field organizer" perspective of multiple participant.

Public park picnic spot management: ad-hoc demarcation of micro-lots for picnicers seeking to rapidly allocate play and lounging spaces between all present.

Device channels: smartphone AR overlay for on-the-ground lines and playing fields, and for feature phones a call-in automated voice system to provide close-enough instructions-- "Hello, municipal picnicer! There's an unreserved parcel 120 yards SW from the playground. Watch out for the soccer game that's ongoing nearby." (Matthieu Pierce)

Group-curated AR experiences: collaboratively constructed mixed media art for specific locales (from a neighborhood of haunted houses to a densely-situated gallery installment). (Matthieu Pierce)

Device channels: smartphone visual/audio overlay, stationary devices allow remote viewing via virtual reality, and feature phones open up phone calls for audio, SMS for a series of maximally expressive photos and/or text (say, one photo with a pre-baked AR overlay at each compass point around the perimeter of the installment).

Social Publishing of Non-Spatial AR Content

Self-exposure of social/material networks: business or sports teams, ad-hoc uniforms, political parties. (Matthieu Pierce)

Device Channels: At planned events, projected onto walls or ceilings as network-aware mirrors/maps. Forward-facing, worn or carried displays, such as e-ink badges, cell phones screens set to a "team ID" mode, and all sorts of color LED hacks.

External exposure of social/material networks: visualization of pre-existing financial relationships would be particularly useful in business meet-and-greets, to say nothing of political discourse. (Matthieu Pierce)

Device Channels: smart-phone visual overlay, overlay/annotation of streaming video to remote viewers on desktops/laptops/tvs (via ustream, justintv, television networks, etc).The projector/smartphone/TV visual overslays could be as simple as markers set relative to group members' positions, or as complex as vector webs in high-fidelity variation based on relative position and group-specific behaviors or explicit shared edits.

Turn-by-turn social navigation: "To meet target person X, start with close friend A, over there by the fruit punch, and steer him/her over by person B, who is a mutual acquaintence of persons A and X." (Matthieu Pierce)

Device Channels: Directions sent by socially-unobtrustive means, such as through a phone's voice channel or SMS. That is, until either AR glasses arrive or surreptitiously pointing your smartphone at strangers becomes kosher.

Use Case Narrative: Event Planning (Wedding)

Frank and Roberta want to plan their wedding in collaboration with wedding professionals, and they want to visualise the course of events for guests.

1. Frank creates an AR Wave from his laptop. After searching google for a wedding/reception venues, he adds several potential locations to the AR Wave in an overhead google maps-style view. Frank also invites Roberta to the AR Wave.

2. Roberta visits several of the venues during her lunch break, using her phone's AR Wave browser to point her to the nearest ones. She attaches notes to candidtate venues, and removes ones she doesn't like. After some in-Wave chat, Frank and Roberta agree on a venue. They invite the venue manager to contribute to the AR Wave.

3. The venue manager adds a AR Wave blip that references an image overlaid on the floor of the venue - a tentative sketch of the event layout. Following discussion with Roberta and Frank, the venue manager goes through several versions before settling on an arrangement. Frank and Roberta add blips with group and individual seating assignments on top.

4. Roberta and Frank send out wedding invitations by email, wave, and postage. As guests respond in the affirmative, they are invited to the AR Wave and encouraged to annotate their seating assignment with their preferred meal. The venue manager notes these for ordering the food.

[4b. From their laptops at home, the close friends of the bride and groom create a parallel private AR Wave to plot the Bachelorette and Bachelor Parties, as well map out the various wedding day hijinks. When the time comes, they'll use their phones to converge from different angles. Roberta and Frank suspect, but cannot see these plans.]

5. Following the recommendation of a friend, Frank and Roberta hire a professional photographer and invite the photographer to the AR Wave.

6. The photographer scopes out the area surrounding the venue for good photo opportunities, adding those spots in Point of Interest blips through her smartphone while on-location.

7. As the day draws near, Frank and Roberta add other places of interest: the dress/tux rental store, hotels and the homes of nearby friends with room to spare, and store where they've registered their gift list. Out-of-town guests scramble gratefully as they arrive for the event.

8. While walking through the wedding rehearsal, the couple numbers the relevant blips in the order of events to take place, providing a clear sequence for guests and ceremony participants to follow. [Using vector arrows to connect points of interest, and different directions for different groups, such as leading the ceremony participants through a series of photo opportunity locales while directing general guests straight to the reception.]

9. The wedding happens, and points are shifted on the fly as unforseen events happen, and everyone on site with a smartphone, from the maid of honor to the venue manager can view the AR Wave browser and adjust to the latest news on the ground.

10. After the event, the guests and photographer populate the AR Wave with blips that point to photographs, audio comments, and anecdotes set right where they happened.

11. For their first anniversary, Roberta and Frank take a walk through the venue, viewing the memories and resolving to contribute significantly to future AR Wave development.

(Matthieu Pierce)