  While visual search for targets within a complex scene might benefit from
using augmented-reality (AR) head-mounted display (HMD) technologies helping to
efficiently direct human attention, imperfectly reliable automation support
could manifest in occasional errors. The current study examined the
effectiveness of different HMD cues that might support visual search
performance and their respective consequences following automation errors.
Fifty-six participants searched a 3D environment containing 48 objects in a
room, in order to locate a target object that was viewed prior to each trial.
They searched either unaided or assisted by one of three HMD types of cues: an
arrow pointing to the target, a plan-view minimap highlighting the target, and
a constantly visible icon depicting the appearance of the target object. The
cue was incorrect on 17% of the trials for one group of participants and 100%
correct for the second group. Through both analysis and modeling of both search
speed and accuracy, the results indicated that the arrow and minimap cues
depicting location information were more effective than the icon cue depicting
visual appearance, both overall, and when the cue was correct. However, there
was a tradeoff on the infrequent occasions when the cue erred. The most
effective AR-based cue led to a greater automation bias, in which the cue was
more often blindly followed without careful examination of the raw images. The
results speak to the benefits of augmented reality and the need to examine
potential costs when AR-conveyed information may be incorrect because of
imperfectly reliable systems.
