Two is Better Than One. Improved Attention Guiding in AR by Combining Techniques.

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Computer Science
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Attention guiding techniques in augmented reality (AR) enhance search tasks in production.
• Head-mounted displays (HMDs) are effective for context-sensitive mobile search.
• Previous research suggests coarse and fine navigation improves 2D interfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of adding coarse navigation guidance to existing AR attention techniques.
• To determine if combined guidance improves search time and efficiency on stereoscopic HMDs.

Main Methods:

• A laboratory study was conducted using a stereoscopic head-mounted display.
• Participants performed search tasks with unimodal attention guiding techniques and combined coarse/fine navigation techniques.
• Objective performance metrics (search time, efficiency) and subjective user preferences were recorded.

Main Results:

• One combined attention guiding technique demonstrated objectively superior performance compared to unimodal techniques.
• Participants showed a subjective preference for the combined technique.
• The study confirmed performance improvements in search time and efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Combining coarse and fine navigation guidance in AR HMDs enhances search task performance.
• This approach offers benefits over existing unimodal attention guiding methods.
• Future research should explore performance in real-world environments.