Evaluating the Potential of Glanceable AR Interfaces for Authentic Everyday Uses

In the near future, augmented reality (AR) glasses are envisioned to become the next-generation personal computing platform. They could be always on and worn all day, delivering continuous and pervasive AR experiences for general-purpose everyday use cases. However, it remains unclear how we could enable unobtrusive and easy information access without distracting users, while being acceptable to use at the same time. To address this question, we implemented two prototypes based on the Glanceable AR paradigm, a promising way of managing and acquiring information through glancing at the periphery of AR head-worn displays (HWDs). We conducted two separate studies to evaluate our designs. In the first study, we obtained feedback from a large sample of participants of varied age and background about a video prototype that showcased some envisioned scenarios of using Glanceable AR for everyday tasks. In the second study, we asked participants to use a working prototype during authentic real-world activities for three days. We found that users appreciated the Glanceable AR approach. They found it less distracting or intrusive than existing devices in authentic everyday use cases, and would like to use the interface on a daily basis if the form factor of the AR headset was more like eyeglasses.