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Monday, October 1, 2012

Effect of Augmented Reality Display Settings on Human Wayfinding Performance


Brian F. Goldiez, Ali M. Ahmad and Peter A. Hancock
IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics – Part C: Applications and Reviews, VOL.37, NO.5, September 2007
Summary
                  Augmented Reality (AR) is intended to overlay information on a real world representation, whereas Virtual Reality (VR) is intended to be a virtual representation of a certain environment in which the human is fully immersed. AR is characterized by 3 fundamental factors: real time operation, 2) spatially and temporally registered data, 3) interactivity. Information can be added in 3 main ways: information that is not directly regarding the scene (as for heads up display in an aircraft), information meant to be fused with reality and portraying information which is not immediately viewable in the scene without the use of augmentation.
With current technologies performance in wayfinding (the operator’s ability of acquiring landmarks, routes and survey knowledge about an area) can be measured. The authors perform an experiment to test different performances with different display configurations in the case of search and rescue conditions, where minimization of wayfinding time is necessary in order to ensure safety conditions. The Bettlefield Augmented Reality System (BARS), developed by the Naval Research Laboratory is used for the experiment, being a divice nearly to be effectively used, as for example the U.S. Army is using a similar one in thir Objective Force Warrior Program.
VR and AR obviously share common technologies, being the first having problems in wayfinding problems lacking of navigational metaphors. Navigation behavior studies appear to be useful in this literature for a better understanding of the final result, it appears in fact that humans tend to create cognitive maps of areas based on how they obtain the spatial information, while it is known that learning takes time and consumes memory. It is demonstrated that egocentric (track-up) maps tend to be disorienting when missing of proper configuration.
The aim of AR is to increase the final symbiosis between the user and the equipment.
·       Experiment
The researches proposed two hypothesis, the first is for proving that AR maps will improve performance in term of user’s speed and accuracy in a search and rescue wayfinding, the second for proving that “on demand” map display will reduce time and improve as well accuracy in the users traversing of the maze.
The users were asked to traverse the maze and later get back, the second task was achieving missions by finding objects located in the map and answer survey once arrived in these locations (Guilford – Zimmerman Aptitude Survey, which is for analyze people’s spatial abilities). The experiment was designed for a group of people with no map but a compass, a group with a map, a group with a egocentric control with on demand map, egocentric control with permanent map, group with a exocentric control with on demand map and a group with a exocentric control with permanent map.
Key Concepts
Augmented Reality, Human Performance
Key Results
The first hypothesis was demonstrated to be proven, in particular on demand display availability resulted in improved capability, the control map treatment was statistically better than the egocentric continuous or egocentric on-demand display treatments.
The second hypothesis was demonstrated to be partially met, in fact the improved performance by exocentric “on-demand” treatment compared with the control treatment, but the strength of Cohen’s value had a moderate value, this may be due to infrequent anomalies in the device itself. AR can therefore be used to minimize divided attention, but the display should either be integral to the scene or minimize, to minimize attention issue.

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