Concept · AR for ADHD · Psychology 320
Spatial Task Anchoring
Pinning tasks to the places where they happen. An AR concept for people with ADHD, where the reminder lives in the room instead of a notification tray.
- ProblemHow ADHD working memory makes reminders fail
- ConceptThe four-step anchor loop
- Why ARSpatial anchors compared with phone notifications
- Next stepsUser research, a Wizard-of-Oz test and a form-factor study
Sink
Bathroom
take medication
Desk
Workspace
submit the report
Door
Front entry
return the library books
01 · Problem
Out of sight, out of mind.
For people with ADHD, a task that isn't visible often doesn't get done. Working-memory deficits mean reminders evaporate the moment context shifts.
80%+
Working memory
of people with ADHD have measurable working-memory deficits (Kasper et al., 2012)
46%
Missed deadlines
of employees with ADHD report missing a deadline or meeting because of it (Akili/Wakefield, 2023)
15.5M
U.S. adults
carry an ADHD diagnosis (CDC/APA, 2024)
02 · Concept
Tasks live where they belong.
A reminder is anchored to the physical spot where it needs to happen: take medication at the bathroom sink, submit the report at the work desk, return library books at the front door. The loop is four steps, and it ends when the task does.
Set the anchor
Pin a task to a place in the room.
Detect proximity
The device notices when you are near the anchor.
Show it in place
The task appears where it needs to happen.
Confirm
A head nod or voice command, and the anchor dissolves.
03 · Why AR
The medium is the message.
Phone notifications
- Arrive in a separate context
- Demand a switch in attention
- Are easily dismissed
Spatial anchors
- Appear exactly where they are needed
- Stay ambient: an invitation, not a demand
- Externalize memory, so the room does the remembering
- Ambient, not alerting: calm, peripheral overlays.
- Friction-free: one head nod or voice command, no unlocking.
- Zero interruption: no push notifications or sounds; it appears only inside the zone of relevance.
- Forgiveness by design: a missed task stays anchored, with no shame or penalty.
- Personalization: task density, opacity, proximity radius and style are user-controlled.
04 · Next
Where the design goes next.
- User research
- Interview people with ADHD about task-management failures, coping strategies and notification systems.
- WoZ prototype
- A low-fidelity Wizard-of-Oz walkthrough with sticky notes on surfaces, a facilitator triggering prompts as the participant moves.
- Form-factor study
- Compare smart glasses, a monocle clip and an ambient room device against real daily routines.