User engagement in physical-digital interaction design

This paper describes the development of a physical-digital demonstrator that makes use of augmented reality (AR) technology, to convey complex systems and engineering information for design education. As well as acting as an educational and client-facing tool for the industrial partner, the configuration and principles of the demonstrator point towards how physical-digital installations can be used in design education settings more generally. We will outline the development of case study material for human-centred design and product modelling and visualisation education. Initially we describe the nature of the bespoke tool, its features and user interaction. This segues into a discussion about how information is conveyed to the user through a series of engagement phases that are developed into a three-stage “Order of Engagement” framework. The real-world application of physical-digital interaction means the lessons learnt from the AR demonstrator design and Order of Engagement framework evaluation have clear practical and commercial applications for future digital interaction design.