Authorable Augmented Reality Instructions for Assistance and Training in Work Environments

Augmented Reality (AR) is a promising technology for assistance and training in work environments, as it can provide instructions and feedback contextualised. Not only, but especially impaired workers can benefit from this technology. While previous work mostly focused on using AR to assist or train specific predefined tasks, "general purpose" AR applications, that can be used to intuitively author new tasks at run-time, are widely missing. The contribution of this work is twofold: First we develop an AR authoring tool on the Microsoft HoloLens in combination with a Smartphone as an additional controller following considerations based on related work, guidelines and focus group interviews. Then, we evaluate the usability of the authoring tool itself and the produced AR instructions on a qualitative level in realistic scenarios and gather feedback. As the results reveal a positive reception, we discuss authorable AR as a viable form of AR assistance or training in work environments.