[DanAndersen]

As someone doing AR research, I can definitely echo the importance of higher FOV for getting closer to the "holograms." I am currently doing some investigations involving tracked hand-held devices (like smartphones/tablets) with the AR HMD, and I've found that users tend to unnaturally hold the device really far out in an attempt to see any AR content that is placed relative to the tracked object. Hopefully even a modest improvement in FOV can overcome this subconscious tendency and open up a wider range of interactions.

[mojomark]

That's interesting; something I never really paid attention too when I was working with an mobile device AR app company. Is this research somehow tied into the relationship between UI and imaging AR head mounted displays or are you focussing on tablet/phone AR?

I too feel FOV is a key attribute, but for me it's all about it being an important "immersion cue". Objects that we don't first (subcontiously) notice in our peripheral vision, we simply don't believe.

This is actually why I think Magic Leap made a smart decision by making their device so 'enclosed' (as opposed to MSHL that is extremely open and unoccluded), which effectively artificially narrows the peripheral vision. So, by simply blocking off the area of a display window through/from which your device cannot generate image content, they improve immersion. Cheating, but who cares, so long as effect is better than without.

[DanAndersen]

>Is this research somehow tied into the relationship between UI and imaging AR head mounted displays or are you focussing on tablet/phone AR?

It's focused on having virtual/AR content that is rendered by an AR HMD like the HoloLens, but which is rigidly anchored to a handheld object. So, for example, having extra windows or panels on a phone that float beyond the rectangle that defines the physical smartphone shape.

>This is actually why I think Magic Leap made a smart decision by making their device so 'enclosed' (as opposed to MSHL that is extremely open and unoccluded), which effectively artificially narrows the peripheral vision.

I think this was an issue that the HoloLens 1 had/has in terms of the plastic "eyeglasses" region -- because it looks like it wraps around the full eye FOV when looking at the headset before putting it on, users are disappointed when they wear it and it's revealed just how (relatively) low the FOV is. Setting proper expectations is important for users.