Technology, especially the smartphone, is villainized for taking meaning and time away from in-person interactions and secluding people into "digital bubbles". We believe this is not an intrinsic property of digital gadgets, but evidence of a lack of imagination in technology design. Leveraging augmented reality (AR) toward this end allows us to create experiences for multiple people, their pets, and their environments. In this work, we explore the design of AR technology that "piggybacks" on everyday leisure to foster co-located interactions among close ties (with other people and pets. We designed, developed, and deployed three such AR applications, and evaluated them through a 41-participant and 19-pet user study. We gained key insights about the ability of AR to spur and enrich interaction in new channels, the importance of customization, and the challenges of designing for the physical aspects of AR devices (e.g., holding smartphones). These insights guide design implications for the novel research space of co-located AR.

翻译：技术，尤其是智能手机，常被指责从面对面互动中剥离意义与时间，将人们封闭在“数字泡沫”中。我们认为，这并非数字设备的固有属性，而是技术设计缺乏想象力的体现。将增强现实（AR）应用于此目标，能够为多人、他们的宠物及环境创造沉浸式体验。本研究探索了AR技术的设计——该技术可“附带”于日常休闲，促进亲密关系间的共处互动（包括人与人、人与宠物）。我们设计、开发并部署了三种此类AR应用，并通过一项包含41名参与者和19只宠物的用户研究进行评估。研究获得了关键洞见：AR激发和丰富新渠道互动能力、个性化定制的重要性，以及设计AR设备物理特性（如手持智能手机）面临的挑战。这些发现为共处AR这一新兴研究领域的设计启示提供了指导。