Study for establishing design guidelines for manuals using augmented reality technology: Verification and expansion of the basic model describing "effective complexity"

Augmented reality (AR), a technology that enables users to see an overlay of digital information on the real view, is expected to be applied more and more to human factor innovation. It has been suggested that a manual using AR (AR manual) improves accuracy and efficiency in actual work situations. To make an AR manual practical, hardware such as see-through display or retinal scanning display has been actively developed. However, software, i.e., information provided by the AR manual, has not been sufficiently examined. In a recent study, the authors built a mathematical model that describes the "effective complexity" of an AR manual according to the complexity of the real view. In this study, the basic model is verified by applying it to the AR manual for a realistic task. Furthermore, the applicability of the basic model is examined by assuming two different situations where either accuracy or efficiency has high priority. The objective of this study is to establish rough but practical guidelines for designing an AR manual.