Reality check

Learning through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences has become a valuable approach in modern robotics education. This study evaluated this approach and investigated how 99 first-year industrial engineering students explored robot systems through such online experiences while staying at home. The objective was to examine learning in the AR/VR environment and evaluate its contribution to understanding the robot systems and to fostering integrative thinking. During the AR experiences that we developed using Vuforia Studio, the students learned about TurtleBot2 and RACECAR MN robots while disassembling and modifying their models and by obtaining information about their components. In the VR experience with the RacecarSim simulator, the students explored sensor-based robot navigation. Quizzes were used to assess understanding of robot systems, and a post-workshop questionnaire evaluated the workshop’s contribution to learning about the robots and to training integrative thinking skills. The data indicate that the students gained understanding of the robot systems, appreciated the contribution of the augmented and virtual reality apps, and widely used integrative thinking throughout the practice. Our study shows that AR apps and virtual simulators can be effectively used for experiential learning about robot systems in online courses. However, these experiences cannot replace practice with real robots.

PurposeThe current study explores two distinct augmented reality (AR) experiences (hedonic and utilitarian) to determine the drivers of satisfaction and word-of-mouth (WOM). Specifically, this research investigates how different AR characteristics (person–virtual environment (VE) interaction, novelty) impact reality congruence and immersion, which ultimately lead to satisfaction and WOM.Design/methodology/approachWe tested the proposed model using a US consumer sample (N = 401) by applying partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to reveal differences across the AR experiences regarding the mediating effects of immersion and reality congruence. Furthermore, we administered PLS-SEM multigroup analysis to identify differences for hedonic and utilitarian AR experiences.FindingsThis study provides important insights into the use of AR to create value-driven consumer experiences and outcome behaviors. Interacting with the virtual environment (VE) enhances immersion for hedonic AR experiences while it leads to higher levels of reality congruence for utilitarian AR experiences. While established relationships such as novelty to immersion continue to be significant, new constructs such as person–VE interaction and reality congruence immerge as stronger influences.Originality/valueTo date, most studies have implemented apps such as IKEA Place and have considered value as one comprehensive construct. However, limited research has examined differences in hedonic and utilitarian AR experiences. The current findings enhance the understanding of utilizing value-driven consumer experiences within the AR context to achieve desirable outcome behaviors.

Objective Augmented reality (AR) is a rapidly developing technology that has substantial potential as a novel approach for addiction treatment, including tobacco use. AR can facilitate the delivery of cue exposure therapy (CET) such that individuals can experience the treatment in their natural environments as viewed via a smartphone screen, addressing the limited generalizbility of extinction learning. Previously, our team developed a basic AR app for smoking cessation and demonstrated the necessary mechanisms for CET. Specifically, we showed that the AR smoking cues, compared to neutral cues, elicited substantial cue reactivity (i.e. increased urge) and that repeated exposure to the AR smoking cues reduced urge (i.e. extinction) in a laboratory setting. Here we report the next step in the systematic development of the AR app, in which we assessed the usability and acceptability of the app among daily smokers in their natural environments. Method Daily smokers (N = 23, 78.3% female, Mean Age = 43.4, Mean Cigarettes/Day = 14.9), not actively quitting, were instructed to use the AR app in locations and situations where they smoke (e.g. home, bar) at least 5 times per day over one week. The study is registered in clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04101422). Results Results indicated high usability and acceptability. Most of the participants (73.9%) used the AR app on at least 5 days. Participants found the AR cues realistic and well-integrated in their natural environments. The AR app was perceived as easy to use (Mean = 4.1/5) and learn (mean of 2 days to learn). Overall satisfaction with the app was also high. Secondary analyses found that 56.5% reported reduced smoking, with an average 26% reduction in cigarettes per day at follow-up. Conclusions These findings set the stage for a randomized controlled trial testing the AR app as an adjuvant therapy for treating tobacco dependence, with potential applicability to other substances. KEY MESSAGE This study found that the augmented reality (AR) smartphone application that utlized cue exposure treatment for smoking cessation was perceived as easy to use and learn in the natural, day-to-day environment of daily smokers. Findings set the stage for a larger clinical trial testing the AR app as an adjuvant therapy for treating tobacco dependence, with potential applicability to other addictive behaviors.

There are a number of Augmented Reality (AR) experiences that are situated or related to sites of pain, suffering, and death. The ethical design, development, and facilitation of these experiences has not been addressed by the current AR scholarship. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper presents foundational principles for how AR can be ethically designed to facilitate a respectful experience. A niche form of tourism studies, dark tourism is used as a universal term for any form of tourism that is related to death, suffering, atrocity, tragedy or crime. Based on this research, the paper proposes some suggestions for creating ethical AR experiences at dark tourism sites before, during, and after a visit. AR can become an ethical and powerful extension of reflecting upon mortality if spectacle is moderated at these dark sites. The paper concludes with design suggestions for ethical AR experiences at dark tourism sites already engaged in the commodification and consumption of the macabre.

The rise of consumer augmented reality (AR) technology has opened up new possibilities for interventions intended to disrupt and subvert cultural conventions. From defacing corporate logos to erecting geofenced digital monuments, more and more people are creating AR experiences for social causes. We sought to understand this new form of activism, including why people use AR for these purposes, opportunities and challenges in using it, and how well it can support activist goals. We conducted semi-structured interviews with twenty people involved in projects that used AR for a social cause across six different countries. We found that AR can overcome physical world limitations of activism to convey immersive, multilayered narratives that aim to reveal invisible histories and perspectives. At the same time, people experienced challenges in creating, maintaining, and distributing their AR experiences to audiences. We discuss open questions and opportunities for creating AR tools and experiences for social change.

Augmented reality (AR) technology has been widely used in various business applications in the past five years. Since the beginning of 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on various industries, AR has become one of the technologies that have significantly reduced physical interactions between buyers and sellers. This chapter reflects its finding in fours areas: 1) eCommerce mobile AR apps can allow customers to better interact with products virtually. 2) AR facilitates customer shopping journey in three stages of purchasing, namely before-purchase, purchase, and after-purchase stages. 3) Design and develop mobile AR apps with two features of virtuality and interactivity to the extent that enables customers to favor AR apps to the offline shopping experience in a sustainable trend. 4) Online retailers can utilize their AR apps to predict target customers' preferences, hence giving them effective promotions to motivate them to buy their preferred products online.

PurposeThe relationship between medicine and video games is growing tremendously. In the field of medicine, realistic simulation and games have risen in popularity, and in turn, gamification has transformed the game elements into a non-gaming world for human engagement like motivation and performance. It is not surprising that game-based learning has branched out in the realm of the medical world. The person’s psychological state determines the effectiveness of education during training. This study aims to examine how the usage of immersive technology impacts users’ tendency to access immersive resources for learning during an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic. Augmented reality (AR) apps have grown to be a popular tool in education nowadays. The purpose of using AR applications is to impart knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic. An investigation was conducted to test the effectiveness of immersive technology in learning by developing a game-based experimental model and testing it on 100 non-randomly selected users of various ages. This study shows that users are open to new teaching approaches, including AR applications, in response to the challenges presented by the pandemic. AR applications provide a potential solution to the difficulties associated with education by providing an immersive and interesting experience that enhances learning-based results. This demonstrates that while using AR apps, an individual’s viewpoints and sense of control over their learning are more essential in influencing their conduct. By integrating AR apps into learning systems, immersive education may enhance users’ engagement, motivation and overall learning experiences.Design/methodology/approachConvenience sampling was chosen as the method for data analysis. One hundred users from a leading private university in the northwest part of India participated in this study. This gave a minimum sample size of 79 participants. To analyse the user experience (UX), a UX questionnaire was adopted. In this research paper, the researcher explores the importance of immersive games that emphasise awareness and experience through a series of questionnaires to assess the effective awareness of COVID through immersive technology, because the immersive element plays a major role in the quality and success of awareness through COVID-19 fighter video games as an interactive learning platform.FindingsResults showed that most people do not know how to deal with an infected person in a critical situation; either they feel scared or deal without taking precautions. COVID-19 fighters are empowered with a virtual patient, which players can interact with. Once the user finishes the FPS game, he must find out the source of viruses that will be an AR-based virtual patient. The first step of the instruction will ask the user to give the mask to the infected person; in the second step, it will ask the user to sanitise his body. In the third step, it will ask to hospitalise.Originality/valueThe research offers empirical evidence on the effectiveness of augmented reality-based game approaches to increase reality in basic education to boost the awareness of individuals. The report also gives an example of good cross-cutting education materials that provide the player with a very valuable tool for understanding knowledge of covid awareness by playing the COVID-19 fighter game.

With the help of augmented reality apps objects and text can be added virtually to the physical world (e.g. physical experiments) in real time. The augmented reality (AR) app ‘PUMA: Spannungslabor’ enhances simple electric circuits experiments for students with virtual representations based on the electron gas analogy including visualisations of interior processes in various components such as lamps and resistors. This opens up new possibilities for connecting theory and experiment in secondary school physics teaching. While using the AR app students are enabled to acquire qualitative and semi-quantitative knowledge about the basic concepts of current, voltage, potential, and resistance as well as the laws of series and parallel circuits easier and more directly. This holistic approach of learning through experiments can facilitate a deeper and more interconnected understanding of the topics covered in physics lessons.

A smartphone augmented reality (AR) application (app) was explored for clinical use in presurgical planning and lesion scalp localization. We programmed an AR App on a smartphone. The accuracy of the AR app was tested on a 3D-printed head model, using the Euclidean distance of displacement of virtual objects. For clinical validation, 14 patients with brain tumors were included in the study. Preoperative MRI images were used to generate 3D models for AR contents. The 3D models were then transferred to the smartphone AR app. Tumor scalp localization was marked, and a surgical corridor was planned on the patient's head by viewing AR images on the smartphone screen. Standard neuronavigation was applied to evaluate the accuracy of the smartphone. Max-margin distance (MMD) and area overlap ratio (AOR) were measured to quantitatively validate the clinical accuracy of the smartphone AR technique. In model validation, the total mean Euclidean distance of virtual object displacement using the smartphone AR app was 4.7 ± 2.3mm. In clinical validation, the mean duration of AR app usage was 168.5 ± 73.9s. The total mean MMD was 6.7 ± 3.7mm, and total mean AOR was 79%. The smartphone AR app provides a new way of experience to observe intracranial anatomy in situ, and it makes surgical planning more intuitive and efficient. Localization accuracy is satisfactory with lesions larger than 15mm.

Choosing the appropriate cosmetics is an arduous task. Because cosmetics are tested directly on the skin to ensure each person’s preferences are met. The consumer repeatedly tries a sample and then discards it until he discovers one that meets his tastes. The cosmetics business and consumers are affected by this move. Companies can utilize Augmented Reality (AR) technology as an alternative to mass-producing cosmetic samples. The difficulty of deploying augmented reality is the difficulty of putting cosmetics into camera video streams. Each individual bears the burden of skin color and its effect on light. HSV Color Extraction was the method employed for this study. The application of augmented reality intends to enable consumers to test cosmetics with their chosen color and assist businesses in competing in the industry by promoting items and engaging customers. This work makes it easier to choose cosmetics using augmented reality and social media. AR simulates the usage of the desired color cosmetics, whereas social media allows users to obtain feedback on their color preferences. The outcomes of this study indicate that augmented reality (AR) apps can display filters in bright, dim, and even wholly dark lighting conditions. This research contributes originality that cosmetic firms can utilize to market their products on social media.

Purpose: This study explores the impact of augmented reality (AR) technology on purchase intention in Indonesia. By integrating the AR experience framework with an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the research examines how five dimensions of the AR experience—sensory experience (SE), emotional experience (EE), thinking experience (TE), action experience (AE), and related experience (RE)—affect perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU), which subsequently influence purchase intention (PI), with attitudinal ambivalence (AA) as a mediating factor.Method: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted with 300 Indonesian respondents, aged 18 to 60, who were recent users of the AR Sephora Virtual Artist. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).Result: Findings reveal that the dimensions of the AR experience positively impact PEOU and PU, which subsequently negatively influence AA. PU also directly fosters positive PI, while PEOU does not. Importantly, AA negatively affects PI, underscoring its critical role in consumer decision-making.Practical Implications for Economic Growth and Development: This research offers valuable insights for retailers to optimize AR implementation, thereby enhancing consumer engagement and driving purchase intention. Improving AR usability and effectiveness can reduce consumer uncertainty, strengthen market adoption, and advance digital commerce in the beauty industry.Originality/Value: This study uniquely integrates AA into existing AR adoption models and combines the AR experience framework with an extended TAM, providing novel theoretical contributions to AR in retail and insights into consumer behavior.

It is an Augmented Reality (AR) experience-induced study investigating a framework centered on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory comprising the quality of AR experience, perceived value, Augmented Reality Information Privacy Concern (ARIPC), and behavioral intentions in online shopping customers. The data was collected from Pakistani customers through a self-administered questionnaire after they experienced the AR app. In total, 1457 responses were examined using the Partial Least Square method in SmartPLS4. The findings reveal that the quality of AR experience, ARIPC, and perceived value are the key determinants of behavioral intentions in online shopping. Additionally, this study shows that ARIPC and perceived value fully mediate the relationship between the quality of AR experience and behavioral intentions. Moreover, a serial mediation also exists between the quality of AR experience and behavioral intentions through ARIPC and perceived value in the model. These findings offer a better insight for academicians and practitioners of consumer behavior in online shopping using immersive technology like AR. No study has investigated the online shopping behavior of Pakistani customers using the quality of AR experience in the footwear industry. Moreover, ARIPC has been empirically tested first time in this study showing that the benefits of using AR overcome AR-related privacy concerns.

While Augmented Reality (AR) technologies are becoming increasingly available, our understanding of AR is primarily limited to controlled experiments which address use at work or for entertainment. Little is known about how it could enhance everyday interaction from a user's perspective. Personal use of AR at home may improve how users' interface with information on a daily basis. Through an online survey, we investigated attitudes towards domestic AR. We further explored the opportunities for AR at home in a technology probe. We first introduced the users to AR by offering an AR experience presented through mixed reality smart glasses. We then used a tailor-made tablet application to elicit photos illustrating how users imagine future AR experiences. Finally, we conducted semi-structured interviews based on elicited photos. Our results show that users are eager to benefit from on-demand information, assistance, enhanced sensory perception, and play offered by AR across many locations at home. We contribute insights for future AR systems designed for domestic environments.

IntroductionEmbodiment in augmented reality has attracted increasing attention in educational research. This study investigated how the degree of embodied experience in augmented reality affects high school students’ learning achievement, cognitive load, and technology acceptance.MethodsDrawing on embodied cognition and the Cone of Experience, augmented reality learning tasks were designed with different degrees of embodied experience and implemented in biology instruction on cell structure. A total of 122 Chinese high school students participated and were assigned to either low- or high-embodiment augmented reality experiences. Data were analyzed using analyses of covariance, with learners’ prior knowledge scores entered as a covariate to control for pre-existing differences in knowledge level.ResultsStudents who engaged in high-embodiment augmented reality achieved better learning performance in both knowledge retention and transfer, and they also reported significantly lower cognitive load. In terms of technology acceptance, high-embodiment augmented reality enhanced perceived usefulness, while low-embodiment augmented reality was associated with higher perceived ease of use.DiscussionThese findings demonstrate that the degree of embodiment in augmented reality experiences differentially influences learning achievement, cognitive load, and technology acceptance, offering empirical evidence and practical guidance for optimizing embodied augmented reality design in education.

The intention of consumers to use mobile applications with augmented reality is analyzed in order to assess which variables have the greatest influence on their use by consumers. The UTAUT-2 model has been used, analyzing: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, hedonic motivation, price value, facilitating conditions, habit and behavioural intention. The results show that predictors of a more social nature, such as aspects associated with perceived enjoyment: habits and social influence are not supported. Also, the hypothesis on the value of price could not be supported; since most augmented reality applications are free, although it is a variable that exerts a positive influence on the intention to use because of the perceived benefits. The demographic profiles of consumers can also become important predictors when using augmented reality apps, being the millennial generation and generation Z the most likely to use mobile devices with augmented reality.