Route learning and user attention in a mobile augmented reality navigation application

Abstract: Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that adds a virtual layer to the physical world. The most promising future for AR is in personal computing. Several studies have found that the usage of AR guidance leads to problems with attention to objects that are not directly addressed by the AR guidance. This study explore how AR guidance affects route learning. To do so, a Mobile Augmented Reality application for navigation was developed. The application was developed for Android using ARCore and Sceneform API. Route learning was evaluating by comparing the performance of participants navigating using the application to a reference group that got verbal instructions for the same route. Route learning performance was measured in the participants memory for details of the route e.g. the amounts of sharp turns, specific landmarks they had seen along the route and their ability to retail where they had seen the distractions in relation to the final point of the route. The results of the study show that route learning was not noticeably different for the participants using the application compared to the participants that got verbal instructions. Using the application did not reduce the participant’s ability to navigate safely. Due to the few participants of the study the results should not be considered statistically definitive rather as trends.