Augmented reality situated visualization in decision-making

Decision-making processes and decision support systems (DSS) have been improved by a variety of methods originated from several scientific fields, such as information science and artificial intelligence (AI). Situated visualization (SV) allows presenting visual data representations in context and may support better DSS. Its main characteristic is to display data representations near the data referent. As augmented reality (AR) is becoming more mature, affordable, and widespread, using it as a tool for SV becomes viable in several situations. Moreover, it may provide a positive contribution to more effective and efficient decision-making, as the users have contextual, relevant, and appropriate information that fosters more informed choices. As new challenges and opportunities arise, it is important to understand the relevance of intertwining these fields. Based on literature analysis, this paper introduces the main concepts involved, and, through practical examples, addresses and discusses current areas of application, benefits, challenges, and opportunities of using SV through AR to visualize data in context to support better decision-making processes. In the end, a set of guidelines for the design and implementation of DSS based on situated augmented reality are proposed.