Spatial News : exploring augmented reality as a format for content production, organization, and consumption

Abstract

News has been criticised for being fake and promoting echo-chambers. At the same time, spatial technologies have become more accessible, enabling affordable virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) systems. These systems enable a new channel for interfaces and content. Can these technologies establish a connection between space and news, resulting in a stronger connection between viewers and the news? We address these questions by building tools for news production and content consumption that use spatial technology. Through user-tests we show that spatial-organization of news information can result in greater news exposure. We evaluate spatial production tools by creating three live-broadcasts in VR and comparing them to broadcasts done by a production team. We also show that users have a bimodal response to 2.5D videos shown in AR. This thesis presents and evaluates a series of interactive spatial experiences to address the potential for spatial technologies for media-based journalism.