Stephen Anthony Brewster

Immersive technologies allow us to control and customise how we experience reality, but are not widely used in transit due to safety, social acceptability, and comfort barriers. We propose that cues from reality can create reference points in virtuality, which we call Reality Anchors, will reduce these barriers. We used simulated public transportation journeys in a lab setting to explore Reality Anchors using speculative methods in two studies. Our first study (N=20) explored how elements of reality like objects, furniture, and people could be used as anchors, demonstrating that visibility of other passengers and personal belongings could reduce barriers. Our second study (N=19) focused on journey types that emerged from the first study - self-managed vs. externally managed journeys - revealing that self-managed journeys increased the need for anchors. We conclude that Reality Anchors can reduce concerns associated with immersive technology use in transit, especially for self-managed journeys.