Augmented Imagination: Creating Immersive and Playful Reading Experiences

Abstract

Reading is a complex process that is changing dramatically during the ongoing evolution from purely physical books to digital ones. Between the two poles of physical and digital, there is an emerging field where physical is being augmented by digital and vice versa. In this chapter, we investigate physical and digital approaches to the book augmentation. Physical approaches do not embed any electronic elements into the book. On the contrary, in digital approaches interactivity is supported by embedding electronic devices into the physical book, holding devices above the book or by placing electronic devices around the reader. Firstly, we describe and analyse 10 augmented books that use different augmentation techniques (along the following three dimensions: the modalities being used, the type of content on offer, and the impact of the augmentation on the reading flow). We then emphasise the need for further investigation of the ways for delivering multimodal and immersive content, in which the processes of reading the original text, interacting and consuming the digital content merge into one unified experience that does not disrupt the reading flow and enhances the sense of immersion in the story. Finally, we illustrate how we could move towards this vision of a unified augmented reading experience using different technologies, such as: speech recognition systems, eye- and head-tracking systems, olfactory displays, smell synthesizers and digitally-controlled food delivery systems.