Pros
- With ever advancing processors and displays, more of the world is able to be augmented with information in the form of imagery, text, graphics, video, and music. [5]
- Phones and tablets are the best available devices that allow the most people to benefit and use them for AR applications. [24]
- Tablets allow richer user experience because of their large, bright screens. [26]
- Web content is an area that draws AR browser and AR tools developers because the same technology can be repurposed and adapted for AR. [22]
- Infrared technology has advanced significantly, become more compact, and affordable. AR applications could then have the ability for night vision and heat sensing capabilities aiding with navigation. [22]
- See through walls and determine repair needs, locate the best place to lay pipes or lines, aid sensors and infrared technology to find people trapped in burning buildings. [24]
- Projection AR systems, eyeglass and contact lens displays don't require the user to hold the display, keeping their hands free for more interactions and better user experiences. [12]
- Advancements in tracking and vision allow for more relaxed and common markers like landmarks and skylines coupled with GPS. [12]
Cons
- Physical safety. Being mobile with a tablet or phone in front of your face is not an ideal situation and can be a safety issue. [24] There is always a chance of the user not paying attention to their surroundings and going somewhere unsafe, somewhere they don't belong, or injuring themselves be running into or off of things. [26]
- Headsets can cause motion sickness and tend affect more women than men. [24] Studies have been conducted using EEGs to predict when users will experience sickness, therefore allowing developers to minimize the risk of motion sickness. [40]
- Tracking problems that lead to recognition problems such as blocking sight, unfocused camera lens, motion blur, and uneven lighting. [26]
- AR interfaces don't adjust to realtime changes and the variability of the world enviroment since there isn't always predictability. [22]
- AR needs better position and orientation sensors for pose calculations. [22]
- AR applications for the military require better user displays. Those head-mounted displays were too big, bulky, and costly thus being unattainable for most users. [30]
- Challenging hardware requirements make it difficult to attain the most benefits that AR and ARToolKit have to offer since the user has to use a device that sends info from the camera to a computer able to handle the cimultaneous processing of both functions. [30]
- Privacy. Users have no idea what information is gather and what it could be used for in the future. [26]
- User experience that can accomodate a wide range of users. [26]
- Advertising. AR could be a medium that is not free of advertising. Advertising could then ruin the user experience or interaction of realtime events. [26]
- AR applications must be tested extensively and have a great deal of functionality to justify the return on investment (ROI). [22]
- AR applications could be costly, have quite a learning curve that might require training, or require specific hardware. [22]
- Content development requires skill and time to perfect in order to create excellent content for the user. [12]
- The algorithms used for vision and determining the user's position in the scene need enhancement. [12]
- The playing field of AR must be leveled to make AR accessible to more users. AR applications shouldn't require special artistic or programming skills to create great applications. [12]
- Lack of imagination and curiosity keep developers from producing great AR applications. [12]
- Projection AR systems require ideal lighting and environmental conditions to work effectively. [12]
