Buildings, which people encounter continuously in their day-to-day life, are a compelling target for augmented reality (AR), being fixed, static structures often with plain, flat surfaces to use as potential canvases for AR content. We present a user study (n=15) where participants described how they would augment a Brutalist building they see/use often with AR content. Our results show a willingness to augment the building aesthetically and functionally We identify preliminary insights on where augmentations on buildings are preferred to be made, i.e. targeting flat, empty surfaces and the roof, avoiding windows and entrances.

Automated vehicles (AVs) must communicate their yielding intentions to pedestrians at crossings. External Human-Machine Interfaces (eHMIs, on-vehicle displays) are promising solutions, but were primarily tested with walking pedestrians. Runners are a significant pedestrian group who move faster and face distinct bodily and perceptual demands, raising questions about how pedestrian activity influences eHMI use. We conducted an outdoor study using an augmented reality simulator. Participants navigated a virtual crossing while walking and running; an approaching AV displayed one of three eHMIs: red/green colour-changing lights, animated cyan lights, or no-eHMI. No-eHMI consistently underperformed. Walkers mostly stopped and validated eHMI signals with vehicle behaviour; they processed both eHMI animations and colour changes effectively. Runners experienced greater time pressure to cross, increasing reliance on the eHMI over vehicle behaviour. They preferred colour changes over animation for rapid decisions. These findings are crucial for promoting eHMI inclusivity and physical wellbeing as AVs join our roads.

Streaming services do not present options neutrally. Less metadata is presented today than at the advent of streaming video, e.g. with user and critic ratings routinely hidden, inhibiting informed user choices. Our work combines Augmented Reality and Diminished Reality to explore meta-interfaces that augment TV movie browsing with additional information and perceptual filtering. We present MovieMetaViewer an AR extension for movie streaming UIs which augments streaming-service browsing with independent metadata and optional perceptual filtering. We aim to determine if such meta-interfaces are helpful during media browsing, and whether diminished reality or other visual effects can improve the browsing experience by ensuring viewers only perceive movies meeting their filtering criteria.

Conditionally automated vehicles require drivers to remain hazard-aware while disengaged from driving and engaged in Non-Driving Related Tasks (NDRTs) Conventional visual warning interfaces do not fully address this attentional conflict. While psychological research demonstrates that social cues are processed more efficiently than visual information, this has never been evaluated for safety–critical warnings in conditionally automated driving. This article presents the first empirical investigation into using a virtual agent to indicate danger and aid situational awareness while driver performs an NDRT. Across two experiments (n = 48), hazard prediction ability was assessed with either a visual cue or a virtual agent cueing danger. When including an attention-capturing element, both visual and social cue types mitigated driver distraction, maintaining hazard prediction comparable with undistracted driving. These findings suggest that virtual agents can be as effective as conventional visual cues in aiding situational awareness in safety–critical automated driving contexts, offering design insights for in-vehicle attentional displays supporting driver awareness.

AV-cyclist interaction research has focused on individual interfaces, e.g., eHMIs or AR glasses. However, cyclists using multiple independent interfaces could receive redundant or contradictory messages, causing unsafe encounters. We introduce the Holistic AV-Cyclist Interface: multiple displays facilitating communication together to ensure safe road sharing. We used participatory design with cyclists and HCI researchers (N = 12) to develop holistic interfaces around an actual vehicle equipped with an eHMI. Participants created holistic interfaces communicating blindspot warnings and AV intent and accommodating two-way communication, e.g. through on-bike directional indicators. They mostly placed interfaces on the bicycle handlebars and cycling accessories, e.g. helmet. Holistic interfaces could overcome design challenges: they can be multimodal, facilitate communication between AVs and multiple cyclists, and work in varying weather/visibility conditions. We categorised participant designs into a taxonomy and developed a novel holistic interface based on our findings. Our results are important for the safe integration of AVs into traffic.

Semi-autonomous vehicles allow drivers to engage with non-driving related tasks (NDRTs). However, these tasks interfere with the driver’s situational awareness, key when they need to safely retake control of the vehicle. This paper investigates if Augmented Reality (AR) could be used to present NDRTs to reduce their impact on situational awareness. Two experiments compared driver performance on a hazard prediction task whilst interacting with an NDRT, presented either as an AR Heads-Up Display or a traditional Heads-Down Display. The results demonstrate that an AR display including a novel dynamic attentional cue improves situational awareness, depending on the workload of the NDRT and design of the cue. The results provide novel insights for designers of in-car systems about how to design NDRTs to aid driver situational awareness in future vehicles.

It is challenging for older drivers to transition to manual control after a Take-Over Request (TOR) has been issued by a Level 3 car. This study investigated if the presentation source of the TOR affects driver performance when resuming control. We measured take-over performance, hazard perception, and user acceptance when the TOR was presented on (1) a smartphone displaying a Non-Driving Related Task (NDRT) simultaneously with the In-Vehicle Information System (IVIS), or (2) presented on the IVIS only. Two NDRTs that varied in cognitive demand were tested with older drivers aged 60-69 and 70+. For the lower cognitive demand NDRT, presenting the TOR on the smartphone+IVIS improved takeover performance, hazard perception, and user acceptance, with greater benefits observed in the 70+ group. For the cognitively demanding NDRT, the smartphone+IVIS presentation did not benefit either group of drivers. TOR designers can apply these findings to enhance TORs and assist older drivers in managing control transitions considering the NDRT cognitive demand.