User-Centered Evaluation of the Learning Effects in the Use of a 3D Gesture Control for a Mobile Location-Based Augmented Reality Solution for Maintenance

Mobile Augmented Reality (AR) solutions are ascribed to a high potential for location-based support in the work context. The technology enables the insertion of virtual content directly into the working environment. The successful introduction in practice of the developed solutions is highly dependent on the acceptance of the end-users. Since there are no general design principles for integrating novel forms of interaction and user interfaces into a three-dimensional application environment, we apply user-centered evaluation methods. In this paper, we investigate the learning effects of the users in handling a hand-based gesture control using the example of an AR application to support the maintenance processes of heating, air conditioning, and cooling systems. The users perform five tasks in two successive test runs. Based on the processing times and the required interactions for each task, we can evaluate the applicability of the selected interaction patterns for the respective task.The user study results show that users learn to use hand-based gesture control in a short time. Especially when directly manipulating virtual objects, the users quickly showed improvements regarding processing time and number of interactions needed. In contrast, learning effects in the use of the hand-gesture control do not become evident when performing multi-step gestures without reference to the real environment. Since existing interaction patterns do not necessarily achieve high user acceptance in this context, user studies can provide valuable insights for the design of mobile location-based AR solutions.