AR-in-VR simulator: A toolbox for rapid augmented reality simulation and user research

What is it about?

Current generation augmented reality (AR) headsets are fraught with visual artefacts that limit the use cases of these devices and impact on the comfort of users. To develop next generation devices, we must better understand the how the human visual system responds to various artefacts in order to minimise negative perceptions. The AR-in-VR simulator we present in our paper is a tool to rapidly simulate various aspects and artefacts of potential AR devices and present them to users in a VR headset. This way, we can conduct usability and perceptual tests on different artefacts and device properties, without the need to develop full prototypes which are often very expensive to produce.

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Photo by Bram Van Oost on Unsplash

Photo by Bram Van Oost on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Ultimately, the AR-in-VR simulator gives us another tool in our methodological toolbox for studying human visual perception and usability of AR devices. By simulating and presenting artefacts in VR, we retain significant ecological validity by allowing for more natural viewing behaviours than traditional screen-based lab studies. Further, simulation and presentation in VR means we don't need to build expensive and time-consuming prototypes in order to better understand the requirements for an AR device.