2D menu

This menu type represents a standard 2D element covering most of the screen or the entire screen.

Use cases

• The process of working with your app can be divided into two stages: The first part requires AR but the second part does not. In this case, the user can switch between AR and 2D mode.
• For example, a user detect a physical object and then the app shows a 2D menu to interact with the object.
• Your app does not need immersive AR experience, but you want to provide some AR features.
• You need to display an extensive amount of information or options that would be difficult to display in AR.
• Your menu includes a complex multi-level structure that would be difficult to display in AR.
• You want to have a fallback for devices that do not support AR at all.

Risks

• Menu significantly reduces the immersion and breaks AR experience. (bad)
• Users have tendency to forget about AR because 2D is more familiar for them. (not so bad)
• It is difficult to switch between AR and 2D mode. (not so bad)

Example

A user wants to add a new 3D model to the scene. The app shows a 2D menu with a list of available models. It is a large collections with many categories and subcategories. It would be difficult to display all this information in AR.

Implementation

There is no specific implementation for 2D menu. You can use any UI framework or library for your platform to create a 2D menu.