Configuring Augmented Reality Users: Analysing YouTube Commercials to Understand Industry Expectations

Authors. Ann-Kathrin Wortmeier, Aimee Sousa Calepso, Cordula Kropp, Michael Sedlmair, Daniel Weiskopf

Venue. Behaviour & Information Technology (2023)

Materials. DOI PDF supplemental

Abstract. Commercial videos are often used to familiarise potential buyers and users with new technologies and their possibilities. In addition, presenting visions of future applications is a way to configure users and define social worlds of technology use. We analyse 30 YouTube videos featuring augmented reality (AR) devices in industrial manufacturing and construction, to explore how these commercial videos situate AR technology and future users by showcasing techno-euphoric promises and imagined use cases. With a video analysis based on Grounded Theory and Situational Analysis, we untangle the promises of AR for manufacturing and construction work; second, we present two prevailing configurations of AR users: ‘experts in situ’ and ‘smart dummies’; and third, we discuss how YouTube videos put forward developmental expectations. In addition, we identify discrepancies between expectations and foreseeable requirements in construction work. Finally, our research could contribute to a more holistic understanding of workplaces and socially robust AR applications.

@article{doi:10.1080/0144929X.2022.2163693,
    title        = {Configuring augmented reality users: analysing YouTube commercials to understand industry expectations},
    author       = {Ann-Kathrin Wortmeier and Aim\'{e}e Sousa Calepso and Cordula Kropp and Michael Sedlmair and Daniel Weiskopf},
    year         = {2023},
    journal      = {Behaviour \& Information Technology},
    publisher    = {Taylor \& Francis},
    pages        = {1--16},
    doi          = {10.1080/0144929X.2022.2163693},
    url          = {https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2022.2163693},
    eprint       = {https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2022.2163693},
    abstract     = {Commercial videos are often used to familiarise potential buyers and users with new technologies and their possibilities. In addition, presenting visions of future applications is a way to configure users and define social worlds of technology use. We analyse 30 YouTube videos featuring augmented reality (AR) devices in industrial manufacturing and construction, to explore how these commercial videos situate AR technology and future users by showcasing techno-euphoric promises and imagined use cases. With a video analysis based on Grounded Theory and Situational Analysis, we untangle the promises of AR for manufacturing and construction work; second, we present two prevailing configurations of AR users: `experts in situ' and `smart dummies'; and third, we discuss how YouTube videos put forward developmental expectations. In addition, we identify discrepancies between expectations and foreseeable requirements in construction work. Finally, our research could contribute to a more holistic understanding of workplaces and socially robust AR applications.}
}