Human-Computer Interaction in Extended Reality: Exploring the Impact of Visual Guidance on User Performance and Human Factors

Extended Reality (XR) technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), are increasingly used for workforce augmentation in industrial environments. The ability of XR technologies to overlay visual cues within a user’s field of view enables unique forms of instructional design with the potential to improve operational performance. Yet, usability challenges are reported as an important adoption obstacle for XR, thus pointing towards deficits in how Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is designed. XR Visual Guidance (XRVG) appears to be a particularly promising avenue to enhance usability. Currently, however, the literature lacks both reliable effect sizes quantifying the impact of implementing XRVG to improve user performance and human factors as well as a structured approach to guide its practical application. To address this gap, this PhD thesis investigates how XRVG may be used to improve user performance and human factors based on three complementary mixed-method studies: one exploratory user study and two between-subject experiments, featuring both AR and VR implementations and a total of 258 participants from a variety of backgrounds to increase generalisability. This research is guided by a novel XRVG framework – a concept developed in this thesis – to support the implementation of visual cues in XR. The experiments reveal a mixed impact of XRVG: despite showing a consistent reduction in task completion time as well as significant increases in usability and perceived helpfulness, an anticipated reduction in cognitive load could not be confirmed. Furthermore, the two experiments reveal mixed evidence on mistakes made. This conflicting evidence, likely stemming from a reduction in placement accuracy, is discussed in the context of depth of processing. Moreover, the investigation reveals a detrimental effect of occlusion, defined as the obstruction of the user’s field of view by visual cues. Occlusion is quantified and successfully mitigated by implementing a new feature to help avoid it. Overall, this thesis contributes the most comprehensive empirical study on Visual Guidance in XR to date. It contributes a new framework for a more systematic study of XRVG and comprehensive new empirical insights into the effectiveness of Visual Guidance in XR for procedural industrial tasks

Raw Data for Quantifying the Impact of XR Visual Guidance on User Performance

Raw Data for Quantifying the Impact of XR Visual Guidance on User Performanc

SPARC: A Tool for Statistical Processing and Analysis for Research Content

SPARC is a novel Python-based tool designed to automate and streamline the statistical analysis of experimental results, enhancing efficiency and accessibility for researchers. This user-friendly tool supports a wide range of statistical tests, enabling rapid preliminary assessment and evaluation of data. It supports multi-group and multi-variable between-subject experimental setups and generates output using LATEX to aid the write-up process while including descriptive text, summary tables, and figures to visualise the data. In this paper, we present the key features of SPARC, showcase its application in experimental contexts, and discuss its potential to transform data-driven research across disciplines. Additionally, we want to encourage feedback from the HCI community and invite other researchers to contribute to SPARC’s open repository. By providing an efficient platform for statistical analysis, SPARC empowers researchers to focus on interpreting, applying, and publishing their findings, ultimately promoting robust scientific advancement

Skill retention after desktop and head-mounted-display virtual reality training

Abstract Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used in learning and can be experienced with a head-mounted display as a 3D immersive version (immersive virtual reality [IVR]) or with a PC (or another computer) as a 2D desktop-based version (desktop virtual reality [DVR]). A research gap is the effect of IVR and DVR on learners’ skill retention. To address this gap, we designed an experiment in which learners were trained and tested for the assembly of a procedural industrial task. We found nonsignificant differences in the number of errors, the time to completion, satisfaction, self-efficacy, and motivation. The results support the view that DVR and IVR are similarly useful for learning retention. These insights may help researchers and practitioners to decide which form of VR they should use.</jats:p

Intravenous NPA for the treatment of infarcting myocardium early: InTIME-II, a double-blind comparison on of single-bolus lanoteplase vs accelerated alteplase for the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction

Aims to compare the efficacy and safety of lanoteplase, a single-bolus thrombolytic drug derived from alteplase tissue plasminogen activator, with the established accelerated alteplase regimen in patients presenting within 6 h of onset of ST elevation acute myocardial infarction. Methods and Results 15 078 patients were recruited from 855 hospitals worldwide and randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive either lanoteplase 120 KU. kg-1 as a single intravenous bolus, or up to 100 mg accelerated alteplase given over 90 min. The primary end-point was all-cause mortality at 30 days and the hypothesis was that the two treatments would be equivalent. By 30 days, 6.61% of alteplase-treated patients and 6.75% lanoteplase-treated patients had died (relative risk 1.02). Total stroke occurred in 1.53% alteplase- and 1.87% lanoteplase-treated patients (ns); haemorrhagic stroke rates were 0.64% alteplase and 1.12% lanoteplase (P=0.004). The net clinical deficit of 30-day death or non-fatal disabling stroke was 7.0% and 7.2%, respectively. By 6 months, 8.8% of alteplase-treated patients and 8.7% of lanoteplase-treated patients had died. Conclusion Single-bolus weight-adjusted lanoteplase is an effective thrombolytic agent, equivalent to alteplase in terms of its impact on survival and with a comparable risk-benefit profile. The single-bolus regimen should shorten symptoms to treatment times and be especially convenient for emergency department or out-of-hospital administration. (C) 2000 The European Society of Cardiology