The Effects of Augmented Reality Computing on Microgenetic Place Developments in Unfamiliar Spaces

Abstract

<p>Modern virtually mobile technologies, largely facilitated by the Internet, have changed communication modes, methods, and even daily-lived experiences within the past 20 years. The most prevalent medium of virtual mobility, virtual reality (VR) manages information through the creation of analogies of the physical world. Recently, a new mode of computing called augmented reality (AR) has become increasingly ubiquitous through the proliferation of modern mobile handsets. AR utilizes augmentation of the physical realm rather than simulation as a guiding principle, binding together the physical and virtual realms. Through the use of context-aware features such as landmark identification, geodetic data, etc., AR is able to superimpose virtual information onto real-time displays of physical landscapes. It is in this way that AR is the first mode of computing that truly transcends the boundaries of the virtual and physical realms, demonstrating the concept of <em>dual presence</em>. The effects of this new medium of computing on navigation, wayfinding, and especially the developments involved in the creation of sense of place are largely unstudied. A phenomenological exploratory research design is carried out to seek to identify the effects AR facilitation has on respondents’ cognitive developments, including developments in wayfinding and the creation of social representations of place.</p>