Frames of reference in mobile augmented reality displays

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated spatial updating in augmented reality environments. Participants learned locations of virtual objects on the physical floor. They were turned to appropriate facing directions while blindfolded before making pointing judgments (e.g., "Imagine you are facing X. Point to Y"). Experiments manipulated the angular difference between the learning heading and the imagined heading and between the actual heading and the imagined heading. The effect of actual-imagined on pointing latency was observed for naive users but not for users with brief training or instructions concerning the fact that objects can move with body movements. The results indicated that naive users used an environment-stabilized reference frame to access information arrays, but with experience and instruction the nature of the representation changed from an environment stabilized to a body stabilized reference frame.