Effects on Space Recognition of Walking Through Augmented Reality

Abstract

The widening use of smartphones, which can be used anytime and anywhere, has made daily life more comfortable and convenient. Nevertheless, traffic collisions involving pedestrians using smartphones have become a noteworthy social problem. In recent years, augmented reality (AR) technology has been developed. Applications using AR have increased. Accordingly, a new use pattern of smartphones to portray real space surrounding the device has arisen: The use differs from traditional walking while looking at one hand held smartphone. This study specifically examines distraction during walking while using a smartphone, especially when using AR. To examine the changes of movement of the pedestrian’s point of visual focus and those changes’ effects on spatial recognition, we conducted walking experiments using an eye mark recorder. We examined whether users noticed the check objects addressed in this study. The walking patterns included walking while web browsing, while using the AR applications of two kinds (Point View, Map Fan AR Global), and while not using a smartphone. Actually, the uses of AR in smartphones are diverse. The technology is used for various applications such as games, navigation, and photography. Among them, two AR applications described above were selected in this study because we specifically examined "situations in which the AR technology is used for pedestrian navigation,” which are often used while walking. (Point View displays information about a place (name, address, etc.) on the smartphone screen when it is held in the direction of a building or other object. Map Fan AR Global displays information about the destination direction on the smartphone screen it is held along a road or other landmark.). First, we analyzed movements of participants’ point of visual focus, which revealed that those who were walking while using smartphones viewed surroundings for only 20%–40% of the walking duration. Moreover, the share of duration gazing around while walking using an AR was higher than that for Web browsing. Additionally, with regard to the range of the visual field in the lateral direction, we demonstrated that the Point View is about 90%, Map Fan AR Global is 80%, and Web browsing is only 70% of the figures found for Not using. Examining characteristics of walking by AR to assess the effects on spatial recognition revealed a high rate of those who noticed a “standing pedestrian” ahead, but no significant difference was found. However, the rate of those who noticed other objects, especially a signboard set on the roadside, was low. Results show that walking while looking at real space through AR is as dangerous as walking while web browsing. Apparently, arranging attention information related to the road surface or the roadside is ineffective for pedestrians who are walking while using a smartphone.