Understanding display techniques in Augmented Reality

This is Part-II of the series of articles in which I am discussing the typographic aspects of Augmented reality. It is based on my ongoing research on typefaces for AR headsets which started as part of my MA in Typeface Design at the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication, University of Reading, UK. The articles will help the type designers and interface designers to understand the intricacies of the text in AR to improve their workflow and design process. Click to read the first article “Preparing for the better typography in Augmented Reality”.

There are three basic techniques for showing visuals in AR which depend on the proximity of display mediums (see figure 1). Handheld AR is a common method that uses smartphones and tablets to show AR content, it gained popularity after the release of gaming applications like Pokémon Go and Ingress. Another is using headsets that are classified as optical see-through (OST) and video see-through (VST). OSTs are often termed as true AR at the moment (e.g. Hololens, Google Glass). New technologies that are in development include spatial see-through displays which project content in 3D free space using plasma in the air and retinal displays which projects directly on users’ retina. To limit the scope of these articles I will focus on headset based techniques which pose more typographic challenges as compared to any other mediums already in use, like smartphones. (The handheld smartphone-based AR doesn’t bring any major shift since the users see the screen in a conventional way by holding it in front of them.)

Figure 1: Diagram showing three different techniques and the position of the medium to present the Augmented content over the real world environment. Widely used medium for Spatial AR: Projectors, Hand-held AR: Smartphones and tablets, Head-attached AR: AR and VR headsets.

“The interface designers will have to be more careful, driving away from trends and using research to make well-informed decisions.”

Headset based augmented reality

The headset based augmented reality is bringing a whole new set of challenges both in terms of typography and typefaces. In a lot of cases the text information acts as a supplement to the main point of focus, example: showing location-based information while driving…