Volumetric Hazard Visualization and Navigation in Simulated Augmented Reality

Author(s):

Kimberly A Pollard, Pasindu M Siriwardena, David M Krum, and Benjamin T Files

Abstract:

hree-dimensional environmental hazards, such as dangerous chemicals, biological agents, or radiation, may often be invisible to the human eye. Enabling Warfighters and other personnel to navigate potentially dangerous environments safely requires conveying the locations of these hazards: in short, making the invisible visible. Ideally, 3-D hazard information should be conveyed in a manner that can be rapidly understood while also minimizing interference with navigation or other sensory and attentional tasks. We therefore performed a test of three different potential visualization methods that could be used with augmented reality heads-up displays, examining the effectiveness of these displays on navigational efficiency and on simulated safety during a search and navigation activity. This report summarizes the development of the visualizations, the user study, and the general findings. Results suggest the relative performance of different visualizations is likely situation specific. Overall, the 3-D visualization resulted in the most-efficient navigation, as shown with shorter travel path lengths. However, the 2-D visualization and the combined 2-D and 3-D visualization yielded efficiency and safety benefits in certain environmental configurations. These results can inform future research, design, and use recommendations for visualizing 3-D hazards in heads-up displays.