Liberating AR from Basemaps, Markers and Overlays

While augmented reality has been around for quite some time in computer science, HCI, media arts, and engineering disciplines, the recent availability of mobile phones and other platforms with built-in sensors has ushered in an abundance of applications and content accessible to the general public. For the past several years I have been working on Datascape, a vehicle-based 3D graphics platform that renders a virtual world coextensive with physical space. This platform allows participants to create and view alternate representations of cities and communities that are built from geolocated datasets and media. Through the development and use of this platform I've characterized several tendencies present in the domain of augmented reality that are somewhat limiting to a full range of artistic and narrative expression. I'll present these observations and suggest some trajectories through which I feel located digital experiences might shift away from tropes and techniques common to current AR practices. I characterize these shifts as a move from representation to performance; from panoptic to local; from augmented reality to alternate realities; and from participation to engagement. I will discuss these trajectories within the scope of the project Datascape.