A diary study on annotating locations with mixed reality information

With advanced sensor technologies and tools for content creation, current mobile devices possess features for providing information services based on user's location. There are several services for geographically pinned user-generated content focusing on providing information to users in unfamiliar locations. However, information needs regarding location-based content services in the familiar everyday context have so far been quite little researched. Our research entailed a 12-day user study where nine participants kept a diary, in which they reported needs for annotations of locations they had come across in various day-to-day situations. Based on our results, we present design implications for annotation services, taking into account the user needs in various daily situations. The results show that the services should support flexible controls of the visibility of annotations, notifications about selected annotations within the vicinity, and easy remote annotations. In addition, the system should support collective and living annotations that can be contributed by several users.