Making sure objects are in a logical place

Of course, the question is, What is a logical place? The key thing to remember here is that we are mixing the real world with the virtual world.

This means that people have certain expectations about the world around them. Things in mid-air drop to the floor if they are not supported, for instance. Unless, of course, they are floating balloons or robots. People do expect them to float about, but a table that is hovering 20 cm above the floor just does not feel right. Ensure that you place that table right on the floor.

If your app uses an information box that contains additional data about the app, we can have that hover in front of the user. This is a great way to show users some data they need at that moment, such as instructions they need to follow to go to the next phase of a game, for instance.

However, if you want to give your users the ability to see their score, it would be a bad idea to have that box hover in front of them all the time. First of all, objects do not work like that in real life, and second, it gets in the way when the user wants to explore the environment.

A better way to do that is to place an information panel on a wall. People are used to having items on walls, such as paintings, forms, and information screens, so why not add a virtual monitor that shows the information you want to share?

That being said, the power of the virtual component in augmented reality is that we can do things that the user does not expect in real life. We can, as it were, give the user superpowers. The user can lift a heavy table and have it float about with a mere tap of the finger. If that fits your scenario, you should absolutely do so. However, in order to have the user feel at home in your app, ensure that most items behave as expected and are placed as expected.