Are augmented reality playgrounds risky? a repeated measures laboratory study

Abstract There is growing concern surrounding the health and wellbeing of children, as many do not meet physical activity guidelines. Augmented Reality (AR) has been successfully employed in smartphone games to promote physically active play. However, the potential social and physical risks of children moving around a play space with a smartphone have not been explored. This study aimed to investigate the impact of an AR enhanced playground on peer connection, simulator sickness and miscoordination (trips, bumps, loss of balance and falls). Seventeen pairs of 5–8-year-old children participated in an AR animal search (marker-based AR app on a smartphone) and plastic toy animal search tasks, in a laboratory playground. Searches were conducted under low-structure play conditions and during high-structure obstacle courses. Questionnaires on connection and sickness were completed after each condition and miscoordination events retrospectively coded from video. Peer connection was unaffected by animal format (AR: 4.9±2.2/7 vs non-AR: 4.7±2.2, p=0.311). Overall symptoms of simulator sickness were slightly higher during AR versus toys (AR: 0.6±1.3/10 vs non-AR: 0.4±0.9, p=0.035) however analysis of individual symptoms revealed no significant differences and 92% of questionnaire responses indicated zero symptoms. The number of miscoordination events were lower in AR conditions, even when movement intensity was taken into account. An AR enhanced playground does not appear to substantially alter risks of decreased social connection, symptoms of simulator sickness or physical miscoordination above that of a non-AR playground and therefore the benefits they could produce of increased motivation to participate in physically active play may justify their use.