Our second week was filled with experimentation and exploration. Since none of us had much experience within the AR sphere, we wanted to get our hands on as many technologies as we could. The headset systems that are available at the Entertainment Technology Center are Meta 2, HoloLens, and Magic Leap. In addition, we were also given iPads to explore tablet/phone based AR.

We immediately removed Meta 2 from our list of potential platforms. It was a required technology for one of our Building Virtual Worlds rounds, and while it arguably had a much larger Field of View, we had many issues with reliable space tracking and hand gestures. It also was required to be tethered to a computer for processing, which severely limited movement within an environment.

iOS based AR was interesting to look at. It was a bit difficult to find an experience that wasn’t a game, a tech demo, or an educational experience. What we were looking for was a story driven experience. We found Bookful, which was an interesting take on bringing stories and images to life. Being a mature platform, there were very many apps available that we needed to sift through, so we needed more time to allow for that.

This left us with HoloLens and Magic Leap. Our instructor recommended we try out Fragments, by Asobo Studios and Microsoft. Fragments is a detective-style crime thriller, where a guest uses assorted tools to solve a crime. The experience itself was quite interesting. It utilized space in a unique way and encouraged the guest to explore their “new” environment. However very quickly we noticed some shortcomings. The Field of View was quite narrow, made even more apparent by the frameless glass design of the HoloLens. We did note, however, that the developers used a unique design trick of having major action sequences happen on the opposite side of the room. That way the Field of View was able to encompass more spread out, full height characters. The other, more notable shortcoming was comfort. The HoloLens unit itself is quite heavy, and because of that it is not very comfortable to wear for prolonged periods of time. We attempted to make the nose bridge more cushioned, however we were unsuccessful.

Finally we turned our attention to the Magic Leap. Being the newest addition to the world of headset AR, we had high hopes for this tech. One of the premier experiences for the Magic Leap is Tonandi, a collaboration between Sigur Ros and Magic Leap Studios. While there wasn’t much of a linear story, what we did experience definitely sparked our interest. The guest’s ability to interact with the virtual environment with much more natural gestures, as well as a much brighter and vibrant color gamut allowed for very beautiful immersion. We didn’t have many issues with tracking, and most importantly, the headset was very comfortable for extended use, as the bulk of the weight was in the form of a clip on satellite puck. The Magic Leap left an impression on us

And so, we definitely had enough of a base to begin formulating what platform we wanted to use, and were one step closer to understanding what it meant for an experience to be “AR”