Publication
Comparing AR Interaction Techniques and User Interfaces for Worker Guidance Systems for Industrial Applications
Hossam Khalil; Omar Fahmi Jubran; Laís Muntini; Achim Wagner; Thomas Lachmann
In: Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference of the European Association of Cognitive Ergonomics. European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics (ECCE-2025), New York, NY, USA, ECCE '25, ISBN 9798400720338, Association for Computing Machinery, 10/2025.
Abstract
We present an empirical evaluation of interaction techniques used in Augmented Reality (AR) for worker guidance systems. Recent advancements in AR technology have shown promise in improving worker assembly efficiency, yet few empirical studies directly compare the performance and usability of different AR Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) and Natural User Interfaces (NUI). We compare task completion times and usability between voice commands, gestures and virtual buttons, across anchored and floating GUI. Thirty-six participants completed an AR-based worker training task as part of a 2texttimes3 between-subjects design. Taking into account the small sample size, our results showed no differences between GUI and NUI in task completion times or usability scores. Learning rates were better in anchored interfaces in comparison to floating ones. We discuss these results in the frame of Mental Models theory and discuss their limitations, providing insights for optimizing AR interaction design in industrial training applications.