Canonical Examples

AR in London Tube App

Published

Context

Navigate London with your iPhone or iPad via location signs and distance tracking in augmented reality.

Design concept

A mobile app projects 3d signs of particular locations of interest – restaurants, bike rental spots, subway entrances, etc. onto the user’s screen. The app also measures how far the user is from the particular sight. By downloading packs for different types of locations, the user can expand the amount of information the app relays to them.

Experiential qualities and related concepts

control, focus, locative serendipity, place-specific, trustworthy, visibility.

Augmentation modality

Visual.

Technical options

iOS AR app (uses functionality and visuals from the free alternative app made on Layar Creator).

Prototyping techniques

Video scenario.
Handheld AR toolkits.

Source

London TFL, 2010.

 

You may also like

Published

Ads with a purpose

By integrating displays thoughtful into cities and matching their purpose with exactly the needed solutions, they become ambient. Not using (moving) screens supports the ambient character.

Published

Transparent fridge door

When you approach your fridge it becomes transparent, letting you peek inside without opening the door. Additional information about the products is displayed making you aware of what has been automatically ordered, expiration dates, or food that has been “reserved” for Sunday dinner.

Published

Urban social navigation (a.k.a. footprints)

Overlaying a suitably abstracted rendering of people’s traces gives a sense of where the action is. Data from your friends yields a socially grounded heat map, whereas a broad data collection provides more of a general overview.