Pass-Through AR Disorients Users, Mimicking Intoxication

Why It Matters

As pass-through AR becomes more prevalent in consumer devices, understanding its impact on human perception and physical interaction is crucial. Designers must address these disorientation effects to ensure user safety and effective integration into daily activities.

Key Finding

Using pass-through AR, even on high-end devices, made people feel disoriented and uncoordinated, similar to being drunk, and negatively affected their ability to perform everyday tasks.

Key Findings

• Both low-end and high-end PT-AR systems negatively impacted user comfort and orientation.
• Participants reported symptoms similar to intoxication, including loss of coordination and difficulty concentrating.
• Task performance in real-world domains was hindered by PT-AR usage.

Research Evidence

Aim: To investigate the impact of pass-through augmented reality (PT-AR) on user comfort, orientation, and real-world task performance compared to optical-see-through AR.

Method: Mixed-methods study

Procedure: Twenty participants performed real-world tasks (walking, dexterity, full-body coordination) using both a low-end smartphone-based PT-AR and a high-end dedicated PT-AR headset. Data was collected via NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), observational notes, and interviews.

Sample Size: 20 participants

Context: Augmented Reality (AR) device interaction, everyday activities

Design Principle

Minimize perceptual discrepancies between the real and virtual world in augmented reality systems to maintain user orientation and comfort.

How to Apply

When designing or evaluating PT-AR interfaces, conduct user testing that specifically measures spatial awareness, balance, and performance on physical tasks, using validated questionnaires for simulator sickness and task load.

Limitations

The study focused on specific PT-AR systems and real-world tasks; findings may vary with different technologies or more complex activities. The subjective nature of 'intoxication-like' symptoms requires careful interpretation.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: Using AR where the real world is shown on a screen (pass-through AR) can make people feel dizzy and clumsy, like they've had too much to drink, and it makes it harder to do normal things like walk or handle objects.

Why This Matters: This research highlights that new AR technology can have serious negative effects on users, impacting their safety and ability to use the technology effectively in real-world situations.

Critical Thinking: Given the negative findings, what design interventions could be implemented to mitigate the disorientation and improve the user experience of pass-through AR systems?

IA-Ready Paragraph: Research indicates that current pass-through augmented reality (PT-AR) systems can induce significant disorientation and discomfort, leading to performance decrements in real-world tasks and subjective experiences akin to intoxication. This suggests a critical need to address the perceptual and cognitive load imposed by PT-AR to ensure user safety and effective integration into daily life.

Project Tips

• When testing AR, consider how it affects a user's physical interaction with their environment, not just their visual experience.
• Use established questionnaires like the SSQ and NASA-TLX to quantify user discomfort and workload.

How to Use in IA

• Reference this study when discussing the potential negative human factors impacts of AR, particularly PT-AR, on user performance and well-being in your design project.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate an understanding of the specific challenges posed by pass-through AR, differentiating it from optical-see-through AR, and its implications for human factors.

Independent Variable: Type of AR system (low-end PT-AR, high-end PT-AR)

Dependent Variable: User comfort, orientation, task performance, simulator sickness symptoms, perceived workload

Controlled Variables: Real-world task domains (walking, dexterity, full-body coordination), participant background (age, gender, AR/VR experience)

Strengths

• Employs a mixed-methods approach for comprehensive data collection.
• Evaluates PT-AR in the context of fundamental real-world tasks.

Critical Questions

• How can the visual fidelity and latency of PT-AR be improved to reduce the disconnect between the digital representation and physical reality?
• What are the long-term effects of prolonged PT-AR use on spatial cognition and proprioception?

Extended Essay Application

• Investigate the impact of specific display parameters (e.g., refresh rate, resolution, color accuracy) in PT-AR on user disorientation and task performance.

Source

Are you drunk? No, I am CybAR sick! – interacting with the real world via pass-through augmented reality is a sobering discovery · Frontiers in Virtual Reality · 2025 · 10.3389/frvir.2025.1533236