The usability of an augmented reality map application on the Microsoft Hololens 2

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) has seen rapid progress in recent years, especially from a consumer standpoint. Hardware, as well as software, is becoming better, cheaper, and more available. As the technology becomes more mainstream, we will see adaptations for many applications currently used on personal computers and smartphones. This thesis aims to explore the adaptation of one such application further by developing and studying the usability and effectiveness of a map application running on one of the most modern AR headsets available to consumers, the Microsoft HoloLens 2.

To develop the application, we chose to use the cross-platform game engine Unity. It would provide us an opportunity to develop the application reliably and fast, as the third-party packages available for it would prove to provide plenty of ready-to-use assets and code. In addition, both of the group members had some previous experience in using Unity. While planning the application we studied many research papers to get an understanding of what makes a good AR application.

With the application ready for testing, we recruited test subjects from family members who would give us feedback relating to the efficiency and usability of the system as a whole. The test subjects would perform tasks inside the application but also have the opportunity to explore it however much they liked. After the test, they would fill out a questionnaire and participate in an interview, which would then be analyzed further.

From analyzing the questionnaire and interview answers, we were able to conclude several things. Firstly the system in its current state provides no additional value in comparison to traditional browser or mobile based map applications. It is also inconvenient, hard to use and unintuitive. Despite these shortcomings, the test subjects saw future potential in the system and found it to be useful and fun to use. The findings suggest that even if the application is developed further, the experience as a whole would still be lacking as AR technology is not ready for mainstream adaptation quite yet.