Environmental and Ergonomic Considerations for Augmented Reality User Experiences in Vehicle Diagnostics Tools

Abstract

The advent of augmented reality technology has been a boon for automotive segment, particularly the vehicle diagnostics. Augmented reality enables the overlay of critical diagnostic digital data on the field of view of the real-world vehicle parts thus providing valuable information with the context of diagnosis and repair thus greatly reducing the digital-analog divide. Another key advantage in augmenting critical information like DTC codes, RT measurements over the actual vehicle parts helps in reducing the cognitive load for the technician in remembering the details from service manuals and can help in lowering the human error factor as well. This is one of the reasons why many of the tier 1 vehicle OEMs are eagerly embracing this technology. However, the platform on which most of the tools are designed are predominantly smartphone and tablet based since the smartphone hardware and software provide a cost effective as well as comprehensive ecosystem for rendering the augmented content. This, in reality, poses challenges from an environmental and ergonomic standpoint for the technician who needs to use these tools in conditions which is dynamic and may not always be linear. The paper details study ongoing across multiple geographies including US, Europe and India involving contextual observations as well as moderated in person interviews conducted with the technicians with an aim to capture the environmental conditions and ergonomic factors pertaining to the technicians’ work zone and how it influences the user experience of designing augmented reality tools for vehicle diagnostics. For the purpose of this study, application of readily available and cost-effective AR platforms is being considered and high-end mixed reality headsets like Microsoft’s Hololens are excluded.