The RocReadaR – a system for transmedia news publishing using augmented reality

Abstract

We designed and tested a prototype of a system for collaborative publishing across different media platforms in the form of an application for smart personal Android-based devices. This system includes and uses a printed document (e.g. a magazine publication) as an entry point. The printed document is seamlessly linked to digital web-based material and collaboratively augmented by the users in an interactive fashion using personal computing devices. While the printed document stays the same, the associated virtual digital multimedia part is updated by the community of authors and readers and discovered by using image-based tags embedded in the printed document via augmented reality technology. We call this method of publishing transmedia publishing, since it has similar characteristics to transmedia storytelling. To demonstrate the feasibility and utility of the system we conducted a laboratory study where we asked student participants to use the system while reading a printed magazine and provide their evaluation of the quality of experience. The results of the experiments demonstrate that users on average preferred transmedia publishing over the regular printed magazine for its ability to provide compelling user experience and rich media content. They also emphasized an integration with social media and an option for uploading additional content as important advantages compared to print. The findings can be used to formulate design recommendations for implementing transmedia publishing system in practical real-life applications and to improve our prototype.