A Suggestion-Based Interaction System for Spacecraft Design in Augmented Reality

Designing interaction for Augmented Reality assembly applications is a challenging task. Hand based interaction metaphors supported by modern AR Head Mounted Displays are not always intuitive and may cause fatigue with prolonged use. This problem can be addressed by considering context knowledge of the assembly task for which the AR application is developed. Integrating context knowledge in the interaction may not only help user to interact faster but also lead towards an optimum assembly. In this paper, we present an adaptable constraints- based interaction system that assists users in interacting with virtual components in AR assembly applications. We demonstrate our interaction system with a spacecraft design use case in which users virtually assemble the components of a spacecraft. It combines constraint-based interaction with a suggestion mechanism. The constraints are defined by a set of rules built into the application which enforce self-consistency by defining the inter-relationships of the components leading to an optimum configuration. Our interface provides users with the freedom to move the components around, but prevents movements that are not in accordance with the defined rules. In addition to the constraints, it also suggests the optimum location for a component in the spacecraft based upon an optimization criteria. In the end, we evaluate our suggestion system through a user study. Our results indicate that optimized suggestions are time efficient, easy to use and a preferred choice of the users.