Cognitive support for assembly operations by means of augmented reality: an exploratory study

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to compare the effects of oral, paper and augmented reality (AR) instructions during assembly tasks. 44 assembly operators, the majority of which have cognitive or motor disabilities, participate in a within-subjects experiment in which they perform three different assembly tasks. In doing so, the different instructional media are alternated. The outcome variables under study are productivity, quality, stress, help-seeking behaviour, perceived complexity, physical effort and competence frustration. In addition, this study examines the effects of characteristics of operators by taking into account their cognitive skills and experience with each task type as predictor variables. Finally, as operators perform one of the assembly tasks four times, learning curves are studied as well. Results of a multilevel analysis show that operators using AR instructions outperform their colleagues using more traditional instructional media with regard to quality. In addition, AR instructions give rise to less help-seeking behavior as compared to oral instructions. Finally, there is some evidence for AR instructions to yield a lower perceived complexity than oral instructions. Furthermore, the results indicate that the operators’ cognition and experience play a significant role in terms of many outcome variables. Learning curves reveal that operators using AR instructions experience less stress from the first assembly attempt onwards, whereas for operators using oral or paper instructions, it takes several attempts before being equally relaxed.