AR Interface

Precedents

We took into considerations existing applications that carry out similar functions to those that our AR experience will have to provide. For example, Ikea utilized ARKit to create an AR application that would allow a potential customer to place furniture into their living spaces to make furnishing decisions. There has also been a trend of interior design apps on app stores which utilize similar menus/methods to maximize ease of use.

User Experience Considerations

Physical Considerations — With 5–8 people per session, we had to take into consideration the physical implications of efficiently getting everyone started on the iPads and moving through the space without hindering the experience of the other users. This experience will have to be tailored to the final form of the incubator since it will affect the flow of traffic and available square footage for the individual virtual experiences. If the AR experience is to be outdoors, the existing site conditions will have to be factored in such as terrain, rocks, trees, bushes, sidewalks, and other barriers within the space. These will not be hindrances if the site can be cleared/altered for ease of use while the incubator is on the site.

Digital Considerations — We wanted to make the navigation and options as simple as possible while being easy to use. When designing for AR, keeping it simple is vital with unobtrusive hints. Hence, we decided to implement visual tutorial to instruct people on what they can alter. The secondary options (previous versions, energy saving options, and cost analysis) along with a help icon are located in each of the four corners of the iPad. This was to make them easily visible to the user as well as simple to click and risk of clicking a neighboring icon does not exist.

Calibration

The calibration experience is primary geared towards the monitor. The iPads will be calibrated before the user comes in contact with them to streamline the process, reduce technical problems, and create an easy user experience. If needed to, the iPad can be recalibrated if the user vocalizes that something is off in their space.

Landing

The initial first experience when opening the application is that the user can see the inside of the house with ghosted in furniture. There will be a little visual hint in the center of the screen encouraging the user to move around the space to see it with their own eyes.

Customization

With little visual hints, the user will be instructed that they can click on finishes to edit them and storage options to alter them. There will also be hints telling people to click on the furniture to pick them out/bring them into existence as well as a little box on the floor instructing people that they can add new furniture besides those being ghosted out at will. Once the first piece of furniture has been placed, there will also be instructions to inform the user that object can be moved or rotated at will and re-positioned within the space.

Options

On the top left corner is the option to switch to a previous customization that another user before them had made to see what other people liked/were interested in/created. The user first views the version, then decides if they want to stay and alter that version or to return to their own version. Ultimately if they choose to alter that version, that data will be stored and indicate an interest in that layout/furnishing style. This will also serve as an easy “preview options” feature for those not willing to a new house new house of their own but rather just see what it could be.

On the top right corner is an energy savings tab so the user can learn more about the monetary benefits of installing solar panels, having good insulation within the house, altering human behavior such as turning off the lights, and the pros and cons of having architectural details such as attics and basements for a homeowner as far as expenses/energy. This will include general information, the monetary saving achievable for a house of this size in this location, and further resources if someone want to find out more to implement such changes to their existing house. An option to explore is it’s possible people’s choices could influence the appearance of the house within VR because it’ll be difficult to explore more than the ground floor in AR and none of these options would affect how the house appears from the first floor.

On the bottom left corner is a cost assessment option that will take into account the furniture and alterations the user selected to impact the total cost of the house itself along with suggestions of easy changes (such as switching finishes or furniture types) to reduce cost. Separately it can also calculate the long term monetary cost of upkeep along with the savings that have been selected in the options tab to show how much cheaper the house would be in the long run with making the right decisions (such as longer lasting materials/furniture).

Save and Exit

As soon as the user is done with the experience, they will hand their iPad back to the monitor who will save their changes and print out the tangible takeaway for their customization if WebAR has improved to that point. If not, the data is just saved for new users to view as well as to allow UDBS to run analytics. This will identify trends within neighborhoods and overall to understand the preferences of the target demographic as well as an interest in energy saving options.