LeARn Flags : assessment of the learning curve of inexperienced users with gesture interactions with hands-free augmented reality

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) content has so far been mainly accessed via smartphones and tablets, however, other mobile devices such as smart glasses are on their way. These devices release the users’ hands for interactions in 3D space, opening up new possibilities for immersive experiences. Industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics can benefit from AR applications that provide workers with real time data, instructions, or schematics directly in their line of sight.

This thesis aims to study the differences in learning curves between experienced and inexperienced AR users. The study was done using a game called LeARn Flags which was developed for the purpose of this thesis. We conducted a user study where the users played the game for 5 minutes each. We then counted the number of times the user used pinch motion as well as the number of flags picked with pinch motion. These numbers were then used to calculate the success rate for every minute played which was used to determine the learning curve of each user. The results were quite interesting as inexperienced users had some trouble at the beginning but quickly caught the experienced users in the success rate even though the time limit was only 5 minutes. On the other hand, experienced users had no trouble and performed very well from start to finish. However, the study included only five persons from each group so the results may vary with a larger sample size. After the user test session, we handed every participant some question forms that they had to answer. Those question forms were User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ), Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ), and System Usability Scale (SUS). These answers were then used to calculate various scores to see where LeARn Flags did well and where it could be improved. The results from this study were promising, some interesting results between the user groups were also observed. Further studies would be needed to confirm the results of our study.