Presenting Job Instructions Using an Augmented Reality Device, a Printed Manual, and a Video Display for Assembly and Disassembly Tasks: What Are the Differences?

Components assembly and disassembly are fundamental tasks in manufacturing and the product service industry. Job instructions are required for novice and inexperienced workers to perform such tasks. Conventionally, job instructions may be presented via printed manual and video display. Augmented reality (AR) device has been one of the recent alternatives in conveying such information. This research compared the presentation of job instruction via AR display, video display, and a printed manual in performing computer component assembly and disassembly tasks in terms of efficiency, quality, and usability. A Microsoft((R)) HoloLens 2 device and a laptop computer were adopted to present the job instruction for the AR and video conditions, respectively. A total of 21 healthy adults, including 11 males and 10 females, participated in the study. Our findings were that AR display led to the least efficiency but the best quality of the task being performed. The differences of the overall usability scores among the three job instruction types were insignificant. The participants felt that support from a technical person for the AR device was significantly more than the printed manual. More male participants felt the AR display was easier to use than their female counterparts.