Arrow, Bézier Curve, or Halos? : Comparing 3D Out-of-View Object Visualization Techniques for Handheld Augmented Reality

Abstract

Handheld augmented reality (AR) applications allow users to interact with their virtually augmented environment on the screen of their tablet or smartphone by simply pointing its camera at nearby objects or “points of interest” (POIs). However, this often requires users to carefully scan their surroundings in search of POIs that are out of view. Proposed 2D guides for out-of-view POIs can, unfortunately, be ambiguous due to the projection of a 3D position to 2D screen space. We address this by using 3D visualizations that directly encode the POI’s 3D direction and distance. Based on related work, we implemented three such visualization techniques: (1) 3D Arrow, (2) 3D Bézier Curve, and (3) 3D Halos. We confirmed the applicability of these three techniques in a case study and then compared them in a user study, evaluating performance, workload, and user experience. Participants performed best using 3D Arrow, while surprisingly, 3D Halos led to poor results. We discuss the design implications of these results that can inform future 3D out-of-view object visualization techniques.