Designing a Mobile Augmented Reality System to Facilitate Users’ Companionship Needs
With smartphones are ubiquitous, mobile augmented reality systems (MARS) open various opportunities for users to experience and interact with virtual information at physical locations. This study aims to understand how users domesticated Pokemon Go, a MARS which could be seen as the first normalizing MARS for the masses, into their everyday life. A triangulation method combined a participant observation in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and a qualitative content analysis from a popular Taiwanese Facebook Group Page to learn patterns and motivations of the MARS experience. Results show that content is crucial to using the MARS. The MARS facilitates users’ socialization and companionship needs as well as adds a “layer of fun” for its users when they navigate places. A “See What I See” MARS is designed based on the primary research findings on users’ companionship needs from their social networks and from their mobile media. It is a user-generated situated documentary MARS for users to use in everyday life. A prototype was built and tested. Results show that users report the MARS is highly easy to use and usefulness. It enhances users’ experiences in a positive way. Users feel positive companionship from their friends and family members when they use the MARS.
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OhioLINK Acces
xdMFA Candidates must disseminate their research online in the Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK) Electronic Theses and Dissertations repository. This thesis may be accessed at http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1512043503277673
