17 Jan 2025
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Mike Boland
AWE Talks: AR Development is a Double-Edged Sword
AWE EU 2024
Welcome back to AWE Talks, our series that revisits the best of AWE’s conference sessions. With a fresh batch of footage from AWE EU 2024, we have a treasure trove of on-stage insights to dive into.
We continue the action this week with hands-on insight from a panel of AR developers. Snap and Niantic weigh in on best practices in developing for AR glasses. It's equal parts opportunity and challenge...
See the summarized takeaways below, along with the full session video. Stay tuned for more video highlights each week and check out the full library of conference sessions on AWE’s YouTube Channel.
Speakers
Addison Black, Snap
Shan Jiang, Niantic
Laura Chambers, Snap
Key Takeaways & Analysis
– Developing experiences for AR glasses is a double-edged sword.
– It offers opportunities to break free of the dimensional confines of 2D formats.
– But with those unique opportunities come unique challenges, endemic to AR.
– These pros and cons apply to all AR, but we're focusing here on headworn AR.
– Focusing first on the benefits, it lets developers build more interactive experiences.
– These experiences can also be more collaborative, social, and spatially anchored.
– Dimensionality introduces all new and native possibilities for interactivity.
– This can unlock new experiences for existing entities (think: games or brands).
– It can also offer opportunities for companion experiences for 2D media.
– But it's not without its limitations, including the need for native thinking.
– 2D experiences can't just be ported over to AR, so it requires rigor and creativity.
– There are also technical limitations such as an outsized need for efficient compute.
– That translates to scaling back on object detail or poly-counts to ensure performance.
– Put another way it sometimes requires a tradeoff of reliable versus robust.
– What are best practices to build meaningful experiences despite these limitations?
– One best practice is to lean into the field of view and build around it.
– That means focus on the size of the experience... it should fit within the field of view.
– Because current AR hardware has a limited field of view, this is a key consideration.
– It's also advisable to test in real-world conditions and anticipate all user interactions.
– Don't just test on a 2D screen but with actual glasses to anticipate all UX nuances.
– This can help eliminate unforeseen physical realities that could ruin the AR experience.
– For example, things like the distance or position of objects and buttons is critical.
– Also utilize free resources such as documentation in platforms like Snap Lens Studio.
– Similarly, get inspired by user groups that show off their work, such as sub-Reddits.
– Lastly, it's best to learn by doing. Get your hands dirty with the tech by jumping in.
For more color, see the full video below...
Want more XR insights and multimedia? ARtillery Intelligence offers an indexed and searchable library of XR intelligence known as ARtillery Pro. See more here.
Speakers
Addison Black, Snap
Shan Jiang, Niantic
Laura Chambers, Snap
Key Takeaways & Analysis
– Developing experiences for AR glasses is a double-edged sword.
– It offers opportunities to break free of the dimensional confines of 2D formats.
– But with those unique opportunities come unique challenges, endemic to AR.
– These pros and cons apply to all AR, but we're focusing here on headworn AR.
– Focusing first on the benefits, it lets developers build more interactive experiences.
– These experiences can also be more collaborative, social, and spatially anchored.
– Dimensionality introduces all new and native possibilities for interactivity.
– This can unlock new experiences for existing entities (think: games or brands).
– It can also offer opportunities for companion experiences for 2D media.
– But it's not without its limitations, including the need for native thinking.
– 2D experiences can't just be ported over to AR, so it requires rigor and creativity.
– There are also technical limitations such as an outsized need for efficient compute.
– That translates to scaling back on object detail or poly-counts to ensure performance.
– Put another way it sometimes requires a tradeoff of reliable versus robust.
– What are best practices to build meaningful experiences despite these limitations?
– One best practice is to lean into the field of view and build around it.
– That means focus on the size of the experience... it should fit within the field of view.
– Because current AR hardware has a limited field of view, this is a key consideration.
– It's also advisable to test in real-world conditions and anticipate all user interactions.
– Don't just test on a 2D screen but with actual glasses to anticipate all UX nuances.
– This can help eliminate unforeseen physical realities that could ruin the AR experience.
– For example, things like the distance or position of objects and buttons is critical.
– Also utilize free resources such as documentation in platforms like Snap Lens Studio.
– Similarly, get inspired by user groups that show off their work, such as sub-Reddits.
– Lastly, it's best to learn by doing. Get your hands dirty with the tech by jumping in.
For more color, see the full video below...
Want more XR insights and multimedia? ARtillery Intelligence offers an indexed and searchable library of XR intelligence known as ARtillery Pro. See more here.
