What you see is (not necessarily) what I see – Pervasive AR for Public Displays

Augmented Reality shows the potential to emerge as the next step of wearable computing, with AR headsets turning into an everyday casual commodity. Thus, evolving to Pervasive AR as an omnipresent and continuous augmentation of our environment. We exposed 40 participants in pairs to a near-future scenario, displaying augmented public displays with a purpose-built Pervasive AR technology probe, and explored behavioural changes that arise from using Pervasive AR with symmetric and asymmetric information overlays. We developed four themes which we call Information Envy, Distrust, (Un)comfortably (Un)familiar, and Publicly Private. Among the various concerns raised, the isolation and divide that tailored content could create was identified as the most pressing issue. This needs to be addressed in the design of future Pervasive AR systems. Therefore, we recommend implementing a reliable view-sharing mechanism, ensuring users are always informed about system status, prioritising utility over novelty, maintaining users' autonomy and agency, and practising privacy by design.