Syllabus

Course Objectives

Students will…

• Add user-centered design methods such as user research and usability tests to their repertoire of design skills; understand the strengths and limitations of these methods and how they can be applied to the student’s own field of work.
• Learn to use a variety of rapid prototyping tactics and tools to prototype augmented reality experiences.
• Understand high-level technical concepts underlying augmented reality technologies, current state-of-the-art, and areas of active development.
• Gain familiarity with augmented reality opportunities in application areas such as Transportation, Healthcare, Civics (e.g. Census 2020), and Events (e.g. Olympics 2020).
• Gain familiarity with the unique interaction design needs of augmented reality experiences based on human physiology and psychology (e.g. ergonomics, sensory conflicts, gestural semantics.)
• Develop a critical perspective on current and future trends in augmented reality design and their implications on society.

Grading

• 40% Weekly Assignments
• 35% Final Project
• 25% Participation and Discussion

Assignments

1. A0 Sparks: You’ll be randomly assigned to a week in class where you’ll be responsible for sharing an inspirational project you found, over 3 slides x 20 seconds each, at the beginning of class (~3 people will share each week.)
2. A1 Five Days: For this first assignment you’ll be randomly assigned to a group of 3. Choose one AR app; install it and use it at least once per day for four days. On day five, redesign one interaction from the app and mock a <10 sec. video of what it would look like from a user’s phone.
3. A2 De-teched: analog AR with scotch tape and transparencies. I’ll explain. You’ll be randomly assigned to a group of 3.
4. A3 On Campus: form your own groups of 3~4, choose one of the campus prompts.
   • 3.1 Needfinding: identify a population of users, and develop a framework to express their needs.
   • 3.2 Prototyping: design a mixed reality experience and build a prototype based on the user needs you identified.
   • 3.3 Evaluation: test your prototype with users (students) on campus.
5. A4 Final Project: in groups of 3~4, choose from one of the NYC prompts to design an augmented reality experience.

Final Project Prompts

• Health Care: complex, anxiety provoking, precise. e.g. NYU Langone.
• Transportation: real-time information. e.g. going from bike share to subway in NYC.
• Census 2020: outreach, engaging participation, aid in accessing and filling out form.
• Olympics 2020: ultimate sports event, real-time info, updates in your timezone, etc.
• Smart House: what’s in your fridge, or everyone’s mood in the room, etc.
• more TBD

Caveat Emptor

Reasons you might plausibly want to take, or drop, this class:

• This class is about learning by doing: we will read a lot and we will discuss a lot, but it’s primarily about building things for people to use.
• Your assignments will involve interviewing and showing your work to strangers; this might be scary.
• This class is about making the right technology decisions rather than about coding. You won’t come out with an iOS app at the end of the semester (although you are welcome to) nor will you be required to write code, although there will be opportunities to write JavaScript. You will be required to use free AR prototyping software tools.
• This class is experimental: augmented reality is an emerging field (e.g. most of the software we use have only been out for a few years) and as instructors we’ll be learning from you as much as you will be learning from us, and from each other. Please ask lots of questions, and please be active participants in shaping the course syllabus as the semester progresses.

Auditors

Auditors are welcome in class and encouraged to participate in discussion. You may form your own homework groups, the teaching team simply won’t be able to provide grading or feedback due to time constraints.

Guest Lectures, Tentative

• RGA Lab
• Google AR Lab
• Intersection
• Sidewalk Labs
• Prof. Daniel Leithinger

Topics We Will Cover

• Themes
  • just-in-time information
  • private needs vs. public space
  • accessibility
  • system/data interoperability
• Design
  • user research, quantitative and qualitative methods
  • user personas, user journeys and storyboarding
  • minimum viable product
  • usability principles and user testing
• Technology
  • location-based apps vs. virtual reality vs. augmented reality
  • world tracking
  • image recognition and machine learning
  • voice and gestural user interfaces
• Prototyping Tools
  • pen, paper, transparencies
  • Sketch, Invision, Marvel
  • Snapchat Lens Studio, Facebook Spark AR
  • Vuforia, Unity, Torch App
  • iOS ARKit, etc.