Assessing the Effectiveness of Mixed Reality as a Simulation Tool for Augmented Reality Office Applications.

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Augmented reality (AR) application prototyping is challenging due to real-world environmental variability.
• Mixed reality (MR) offers a potential solution by simulating AR environments for controlled experimentation.
• The efficacy of MR in simulating AR office settings for research is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of an MR simulation of an AR office on task performance.
• To assess the effect of an MR-simulated AR office on cognitive workload (CWL).
• To evaluate the feasibility of using MR for AR office research.

Main Methods:

• A user study with 40 participants was conducted.
• Participants performed office tasks in both a real AR scene and an MR-simulated AR scene.
• Cognitive workload (CWL) was measured using electroencephalography (EEG) and subjective questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Task performance and cognitive workload were compared between the AR and MR-simulated AR conditions.
• The quality of the pass-through window in the MR simulation significantly impacted its effectiveness.
• Specific performance metrics and CWL data were analyzed to determine simulation fidelity.

Conclusions:

• The pass-through window's performance is a critical limitation for MR simulations of AR offices.
• Further research is needed to improve MR simulation fidelity for AR office environments.
• Findings inform the design and application of MR for controlled AR user studies.