Evaluating the Usability of Augmented Reality (AR) Applications: The Impact of The Device Used

Augmented Reality (AR) has become increasingly popular in recent years in the realms of training, manufacturing, gaming, office work, and even a social platform. This technology has shown promise as different types of devices support AR, such as mobile phones, head-mounted displays (HMDs), desktop PCs, etc. As applications are deployed on multiple AR device types, it is important to assess the usability of these applications on all possible devices to assess the cross-channel user experience. This paper describes two case studies that show usability issues with different types of devices. Overall, using known interactions with devices instead of implementing new interactions was more important for mobile devices, comfort is more of a concern for HMDs, and common "rules of thumb" (such as making sure the form of buttons communicates function) is a concern for both application types.