Evaluation of constraint-based Interaction Methods in Augmented Reality

Abstract

Space vehicles have to withstand the difficult space conditions. For this reason, various disciplines such as thermodynamics, structure, attitude and orbit control must be incorporated into the design of the satellite. To develop a systematic approach that integrates the customer’s requirements with the design, Concurrent Engineering was introduced. The Concurrent Design Facility in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, and the Concurrent Engineering Facility in Bremen, Germany, were set up for this purpose. In this context, augmented reality have recently been proposed to virtually modify and adapt satellite designs and to make design proposals. In order for satellite designs to meet the customer’s requirements, the correct placement and relationships between components are essential. To simplify the assembly process, constraint-based interaction is proposed in the thesis and compared with free manipulation. To test the system, an early stage satellite with components was modeled and projected with an optical see through head-mounted display. The findings conclude that the total time, the gripping time and the average eye gaze distance increases with constraint manipulation. The average user position, the position error and the orientation error decreases. The System Usability Scale and the NASA Task Load Index is performed. According to the SUS score, usability decreases by 14%. The NASA Task Load Index mental workload for constraint manipulation can be interpreted as somewhat high. It was found that constraints without variable inputs are particularly suitable for augmented reality.