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A tale of two realities via multi-method comparison of Augmented Reality research and consumer product engagement: The best and worst of times in the AR present

Wed, October 6, 6:40 to 8:10pm EDT (6:40 to 8:10pm EDT), 4S 2021 Virtual, 10

Abstract

Although the majority of Augmented Reality (AR) scholarship is based in Computer Science disciplines, it is nevertheless important to consider emergent trends in the AR discourse as research and development shifts from technology labs to media markets. Our argument is that while technical understandings of AR are necessary, they are insufficient to understand how spatial computing augments everyday life and we hope to document how STS can inform such shifts. This paper maps the AR discourse for nodes of power and authority in two ways. First, it systematically reviews and the ways in which AR research citations are shifting from science and technical foci to applied uses of AR, building from work of Cipresso et al. (2018). To do so it employs a discursive analysis of quantitative research citation patterns made visible via CiteSpace to identify emerging trends in AR research up to the year 2020 (n:12,328 Web of Science), to comment on how disciplinary boundaries shape how AR is understood and innovated. The paper then compares these patterns and themes to evolving public consumer perceptions of AR by systematically mapping phone-based AR apps available on the iOS app store and Google Play market. Here we employ open coding of top available “AR” apps until saturation points. We conclude by charting future research directions based on our findings that speak to the patterns of authority and power in this rapidly growing techno-media industry.

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