LACK OF POPULARITY IN AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY APPLICATIONS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF USERS, POTENTIAL USERS AND NON-USERS Guilherme Daguir 1 and Fábio Campos 2 Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil ABSTRACT This study provides evidence on the possible barriers that affect the massification of solutions based on virtual reality (VR) and augmented (AR). To gather this evidence, nine sessions of Focus Groups were held with 43 people in total. Users of VR or AR applications, potential users and non-users were involved. The evidence obtained shows a plurality of entry barriers to decrease the lack of value perception related to applications using VR and AR. The majority of the sample shows a strong relation with theses technologies only with leisure and entertainment. Also some biases and less value of an immersive virtual reality for daily experiences or activities. However, AR was received better to daily purposes it was also not well connected with urban people routine in their perspective. KEYWORDS Perception, Feeling, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Users 1. INTRODUCTION With the popularization of the internet and increased processing power of desktops and laptops (desktops, notebooks and smartphones), easy access to a form of virtuality was achieved. However, familiarity with completely virtual worlds, through equipment with greater immersion potential (such as VR goggles), did not have the same popularity. The virtuality has been studied and implemented for several decades. It is a matter of understanding reality with several steps up to a totally virtual world (VR). It is like a continuous line, where one end is however the real and physical world as it is now known, and along it points of interference of virtual elements, moving to the other end containing an artificially created reality by computer (Jason, 2016). Virtual reality is defined to be a computer-generated digital environment that can be experienced and interacted through any sensory stimuli as if that environment were real (Jason, 2016). Augmented Reality (AR) is the mixing of virtual reality elements upon our everyday reality, usually done through a display, like a smartphone display. Since 2008 augmented reality has been listed as one of ten technology that would change the way humans relate to computers (Trends, 2008). And the diminishing strangeness of systems that support these interactive formats in urban societies around the world is noticeable. However, augmented reality (AR) can be perceived in synchrony with virtual reality (VR) at this point of lack absorption by society (Erra, Malandrino, Pepe 2018). Both are not popular, routine and common in applications beyond casual entertainment. Participatory design (or co-design), which involves the relationship with the user (Canina, 2011), it is also expressed here by the technique used (the Focus group) to get knowledge from the users perspective. The results from these experiments should help to power this way of problem exploration in the design process. It means to relate this phase of designing as a relationship with users in order to know about their perspective before constructing any project to them. 1 gui.daguir@gmail.com 2 fc2005@gmail.com International Conferences ICT, Society, and Human Beings 2019; Connected Smart Cities 2019; and Web Based Communities and Social Media 2019 113