AR Interactions

Intro to AR interactions

• • Augmented Reality (AR) offers a unique space for immersive interactions by seamlessly blending digital content with the physical world. Unlike Virtual Reality (VR), which immerses users in a completely virtual environment, AR allows users to remain connected to their surroundings while interacting with digital elements. This creates opportunities for dynamic, context-driven experiences where digital objects can react to real-world inputs.

  • With being able to see your physical surroundings, AR provides a new context for interactive feedback to make experiences feel more tangible.

Gesture interaction patterns 

Many common interactions are similar to what we see in 2D screen-based devices and in VR:

• • Tap/Click: Activating objects or selecting items

  • Drag/Rotate: Moving or rotating digital elements in space

  • Pinch to Scale: Adjusting the size of digital content

  • Swipe: Navigating between digital screens or objects

  • Pointing/Hovering: Selecting or interacting with objects by pointing

Physical interaction patterns

There are some new interactions that can be considered in AR (kinesthetic, sensory modalities)

• • Physical Space Anchors: Attaching digital content to real-world objects or locations

  • Multi-user Collaboration: Allowing multiple users to interact with shared digital content in the same physical space

  • Physics-based Interactions: Digital objects reacting to real-world physics, such as gravity or collision with physical objects

Common feedback patterns

Effective feedback in AR enhances the user experience and reinforces engagement. Common feedback modalities include:

• Audio Feedback: Sound effects or background music that reinforce actions or provide contextual cues

• Visual Feedback: UI elements such as buttons, text, and animations that guide interactions

• Haptic Feedback: Vibration or force feedback, typically through controllers, to simulate physical sensations

Takeaways from initial research

From my research into these interaction patterns and feedback, a notable point made was how AR provides a whole new context for immersive media, yet most users tend to view these as a static screen. Google’s evaluation of this mentions that their “research shows that apps explicitly instructing users to move closer or move around are more engaging and successful than those that don’t.” (link to this article in sources below)

Usability testing AR Interactions

For my project in Spring 2025, I am conducting a usability test to compare different interaction patterns in AR. Here is a link to the usability study page. 

Sources

https://design.google/library/early-challenges-in-ar-ux

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/learn-from-augmented-reality-course

https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.12777