Augmented reality on large screen for interactive maintenance instructions

We present an empirical study that evaluates the effectiveness of technical maintenance assisted with interactive augmented reality instructions. Our approach consists in an augmented visualization on a large screen and a combination of multiple fixed and mobile cameras. We used commercially available solutions. In our test, 14 participants completed a set of 4 maintenance tasks based on manual inspections of a motorbike engine. Tool selection, removal of bolts, and part dis\assembly, are supported by visual labels, 3D virtual models and 3D animations. All participants executed similar operations in two modalities: paper manuals and augmented instructions. Statistical analyses proved that augmented instructions reduced significantly participants' overall execution time and error rate. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.