Factors that influence the reading experience in AR

This is Part-V of a 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 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 article I, article II, article III and article IV .

In the last article, we discussed variables that affect the overall experience in AR, now let’s have a look at specific factors that influence the reading experience while using AR headsets.

1. Introduction

We are in the early stages of crafting immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences and new ways to interact with elements in space. The amount of text in most of the current scenarios is limited to a few strings or short extracts of text. However, as we move towards mainstream usage and the amount of text will rise exponentially. Some of you might argue that voice user interface is the next big thing but take the simplest of the app on your phone and imagine using it in AR. Even simple apps have a few text elements which allow us to quickly scan the different possibilities in a single go which impossible to replicate in a voice user interface unless you have trained yourself for superhuman selective listening power. So, let's spend some time to understand what are the key factors that impact our reading experience in AR.

2. Visual Acuity

Reading is a highly visual task which requires rapid and accurate translation from orthography to phonology. If the reader is unable to perceive the letters clearly, then the reading experience will suffer. The reading performance depends on the visual acuity, clarity of vision which is dependent on optical and neural factors like the sharpness of focus within the eye, the sensitivity of nervous elements and the interpretative ability of the brain. Ophthalmologists use the ability to see and read the small letters at a distance, as a clinical method for measuring the visual function which is usually expressed in a fraction of 6/6 (or 20/20) which…