Comparative Study on 2D and 3D User Interface for Eliminating Cognitive Loads in Augmented Reality Repetitive Tasks

Abstract

The two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) user interfaces have been a prominent topic of augmented reality (AR) research, and their impact on the efficacy and usability of one-time tasks has been extensively examined. As AR is increasingly adopted in industry for repetitive tasks, there is an urgent need for research into the effect of the 2D and 3D user interfaces. In this study, we developed two prototypes of the user interfaces and conducted a comparison study with forty participants to assess their respective influence on cognitive load, perceived usability, and learnability. The results showed that the two user interfaces differed significantly in cognitive load and perceived usability. In particular, the 3D user interfaces exhibited substantially shorter eye blinking durations, shorter eye fixation durations, less dispersed eye gaze areas, lower subjective ratings of cognitive load, and higher overall scores of perceived usability than the 2D user interfaces. However, there was no difference in learnability between the two user interfaces throughout the repetitive tasks.

Keywords:

• Augmented reality
• repetitive task
• cognitive load
• perceived usability
• learnability of user interface

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participants for their time and feedbacks.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research work is co-supported by the project of Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Provincial Key R&D program (ref no. 2022C03103), National Natural Science Foundation of China (ref no. 61972346), and the major research plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (ref no. 92148205).

Notes on contributors

Xiangdong Li

Xiangdong Li (Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree. He is currently an Associate Professor of design with the College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, China. His research interests include cross-device interaction, intelligent user interface, and creative media design.

Cindy Zheng

Cindy Zheng is currently pursuing the master’s degree at the College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University. Her current research interests include virtual reality, human-computer interaction.

Zhenghua Pan

Zhenghua Pan is an undergraduate student for industrial design at the College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University. His research interests include human-computer interaction, interaction design.

Zhongnan Huang

Zhongnan Huang received the Master of Engineering degree. He studied Industrial Design Engineering at the School of Software, Zhejiang University. His research interests include augmented reality applications and user experience design.

Yuting Niu

Yuting Niu received master’s degree in engineering from Zhejiang University. Her research interests include intelligent user interface and user experience design.

Pengfei Wang

Pengfei Wang received master’s degree in engineering from Zhejiang University. His research interests include spatial interaction and computer-supported collaborative work.

Weidong Geng

Weidong Geng received the Ph.D. degree. He currently serves as a Full Professor in the College of Computer Science and Technology at Zhejiang University, China. His research interests include CAD and graphics, digital media and entertainment technology, and artificial intelligence.