Effects of Position and Alignment of Notifications on AR Glasses during Social Interaction

Abstract

Notifications are one of the smartphones’ key features. However, notifications can be disruptive, especially during social interaction. Augmented reality (AR) glasses can embed notifications directly into the user’s field of view and enable reading them while being engaged in a primary task. However, for efficient notification presentation using AR glasses, it is necessary to understand how notifications should be displayed without negatively affecting social interaction. Therefore, we conducted a study with 32 participants (16 pairs) using AR glasses to investigate how to display notifications during face-to-face communication. We compared center and top-right positions for notifications while aligning them relative to the user’s field of view or with the conversation partner. We found significant effects of notification position and alignment on how notifications are perceived using AR glasses during face-to-face communication. Insights from our study inform the design of applications for AR glasses that support displaying digital notifications.