Creation of In-Situ Instructions Made Easy: Development and Evaluation of a Prototypical AR Tool

Abstract

In-situ overlays are considered forward-looking for technical service instructions. Creating these instructions usually requires expertise in 3D modeling, AR environment creation, and the domain of the instruction being created. The goal of this work was to develop a prototype that simplifies the creation of in-situ overlays. For this purpose, concepts for functions and operation of the tool were elaborated, a functional prototype was developed and subsequently evaluated in a user study. Modeling 3D representations was simplified with the approach of creating objects by assembling basic geometric shapes. By using augmented reality, the basic shapes can be placed directly around the real object. The virtual objects can then be positioned in relation to real objects through the flexible use of an AR marker. The augmented instructions created in this way can be retrieved at any time. In our user study, all participants were able to successfully create in-situ instructions quickly and without prior knowledge. This work contributes to a better usage of augmented in-situ instructions without 3D modeling knowledge.