NotiBike: Assessing Target Selection Techniques for Cyclist Notifications in Augmented Reality

Thomas Kosch, Andrii Matviienko, Florian Müller, Jessica Bersch, Christopher Katins, Dominik Schön, Max Mühlhäuser

PACMHCI 2022

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

TL;DR

What we did: We conducted a study to evaluate three notification selection techniques—Dwell Time, Gestures, and MAGIC Pointing—specifically for cyclists using Augmented Reality in a simulated biking scenario.

What we found: We found that MAGIC Pointing resulted in significantly faster response times compared to both Dwell Time and Gestures, while Dwell Time yielded the lowest error rate among the three techniques.

Takeaway: Our findings indicate that MAGIC Pointing is the most effective interaction method for cyclists in Augmented Reality, highlighting the importance of developing intuitive and non-disruptive interaction modalities to improve safety and efficiency while cycling.

Abstract

Cyclists’ attention is often compromised when interacting with notifications in traffic, hence increasing the likelihood of road accidents. To address this issue, we evaluate three notification interaction modalities and investigate their impact on the interaction performance while cycling: gaze-based Dwell Time, Gestures, and Manual And Gaze Input Cascaded (MAGIC) Pointing. In a user study (N=18), participants confirmed notifications in Augmented Reality (AR) using the three interaction modalities in a simulated biking scenario. We assessed the efficiency regarding reaction times, error rates, and perceived task load. Our results show significantly faster response times for MAGIC Pointing compared to Dwell Time and Gestures, while Dwell Time led to a significantly lower error rate compared to Gestures. Participants favored the MAGIC Pointing approach, supporting cyclists in AR selection tasks. Our research sets the boundaries for more comfortable and easier interaction with notifications and discusses implications for target selections in AR while cycling.

Abstract

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