DinAR: Augmenting Reality for Sustainable Dining

TL;DR

DinAR uses augmented reality to inform and influence consumers' dining choices towards sustainability by providing accessible environmental impact data and fostering friendly competition.

Contribution

This paper introduces DinAR, an immersive AR system that promotes sustainable dining choices and evaluates its effectiveness in changing consumer preferences.

Findings

AR experience increases awareness of sustainability.

Consumers show a preference shift towards eco-friendly options.

Leaderboard motivates sustainable dining choices.

Abstract

Sustainable food is among the many challenges associated with climate change. The resources required to grow or gather the food and the distance it travels to reach the consumer are two key factors of an ingredient's sustainability. Food that is grown locally and is currently "in-season" will have a lower carbon footprint, but when dining out these details unfortunately may not affect one's ordering preferences. We introduce DinAR as an immersive experience to make this information more accessible and to encourage better dining choices through friendly competition with a leaderboard of sustainability scores. Our study measures the effectiveness of immersive AR experiences on impacting consumer preferences towards sustainability.