Designing an Experiential Media System: A Mobile Augmented Reality System for Family Situated Documentaries

Mobile media users utilize their devices to document their everyday experiences at the location. Users often share those situated documentaries both online and offline within their network. Mobile augmented reality systems (MARS) also open opportunities for users to retrieve their situated documentaries at the location. The current design research aims to propose a mobile experiential media design, specifically a mobile augmented reality system, for users to retrieve their family situated documentaries when they are physically present at the location. “Your Notes, My Love” MARS is designed based on the family’s need to share love, information, memories, and knowledge. It serves as a user-generated situated documentary MARS for everyday life. The main functions of the design include mapping experiences for the user and mapping experiences created by the user. Results from five user tests demonstrate that the mobile experiential design is interesting and well-received for family situated documentaries. Users appreciate the notes created by family members for them, which makes the experiences more personal and intimate. They also find the map view design helpful because it simplifies the process of adding or accessing family situated documentaries at specific locations. Users suggest adding a family tree function to map out intergenerational memories.