Handheld Augmented Reality: Overcoming Reachability Limitations by Enabling Temporal Switch to Virtual Reality

augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, transitional interface, constrained industrial environments

The paper presents an approach for handheld augmented reality in constrained industrial environments, where it might be hard or even impossible to reach certain poses within a workspace. Therefore, a user might not be able to see or interact with some digital content in applications like visual robot programming, robotic program visualizations, or workspace annotation. To overcome this limitation, we propose a temporal switching to a non-immersive virtual reality, enabling the user to see the workspace from any angle and distance. To explore how people would use it and what the benefits would be over pure augmented reality, we chose a representative task of object alignment and conducted a study. The results revealed that mainly physical demands, which is often a limiting factor for handheld augmented reality, could be reduced and that the usability and utility of the approach are rated as high. In the next iteration, we want to investigate other possibilities of controlling the viewpoint in the virtual environment, as the current approach has potential for improvements.