4301
Groves, Emily "Food Talks." Masters of Advanced Studies
, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 2019
Keywords/Fields of Study : AR, food labelling, user experience
Abstract: This project investigated how to create a credible relationship between a food product and its environmental and nutritional data using augmented reality (AR). Though existing food labels provide the dominant dialogue between product and consumer, the information is often misunderstood due to poor design and over- saturation. In addition, despite growing public interest to make more sustainable choices, environmental information is seldom depicted. EPFL+ECAL Lab launched an original user-centred design research project to investigate visual, interaction and adoption principles for AR in the context of food labelling. The project ran in two phases. In Phase 1 an AR “kiosk” was developed and tested, showing only environmental information. In Phase 2, learnings from Phase 1 were used to develop a smartphone AR application combining environmental, nutritional and personalised information. A between-subjects study with 84 participants compared two- versions of the smartphone application; one version showed the information with AR and one showed the same information with a static page. Results showed that participants using the AR version of the application learned more about food products than those using the static version. In addition, despite potential of technical complexity, the AR version matched the high scores of the static version for usability (SUS score of 86) and aesthetics (VisAWI score of 5.9). Design learnings are presented in the form of visual and interaction guidelines for AR in this context.
Department: Design Research for Digital Innovation
, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Advisor(s): Nicolas Henchoz
