Playing with Data: An Augmented Reality Approach to Interact with Visualizations of Industrial Process Tomography

TL;DR

The results showed that the first systematic AR approach using optical see-through (OST) head mounted displays (HMDs) with comparative evaluation for domain users towards IPT visualization analysis outperformed conventional settings for IPT data visualization analysis in bringing higher understandability, reduced task completion time, lower error rates for domain tasks, and increased usability with enhanced user experience.

Abstract

Industrial process tomography (IPT) is a specialized imaging technique widely used in industrial scenarios for process supervision and control. Today, augmented/mixed reality (AR/MR) is increasingly being adopted in many industrial occasions, even though there is still an obvious gap when it comes to IPT. To bridge this gap, we propose the first systematic AR approach using optical see-through (OST) head mounted displays (HMDs) with comparative evaluation for domain users towards IPT visualization analysis. The proof-of-concept was demonstrated by a within-subject user study (n=20) with counterbalancing design. Both qualitative and quantitative measurements were investigated. The results showed that our AR approach outperformed conventional settings for IPT data visualization analysis in bringing higher understandability, reduced task completion time, lower error rates for domain tasks, increased usability with enhanced user experience, and a better recommendation level. We summarize the findings and suggest future research directions for benefiting IPT users with AR/MR.

Figures (6)

• Figure 1: Conceptualization of our proposed AR approach for IPT visualization analysis. $a)$: The specialized IPT controlled industrial process is implemented in a confined environment. $b)$: The IPT data visualizations originated from different processes are imported and displayed in OST HMD AR. $c)$: Users engage with relevant data analysis. $d)$: User equipped with the proposed AR environment by an OST HMD interacting with the visualizations for further analysis.
• Figure 2: The block diagram of our proposed AR approach. The user starts the procedure by wearing the OST HMD. The immersive experience is then created, which accommodates the multiple IPT data visualizations for supporting interactive analysis. The user feedback is then obtained.
• Figure 3: An example scene of the user interacting with one of the three visualizations derived from IPT in AR environment. Different colors and the annotations represent different moisture levels of the polymer material after the microwave drying process. Virtual buttons for switching to alternative visualizations are located on the right side.
• Figure 4: Flowchart of our user study with counterbalancing design.
• Figure 5: User study example scene of the two environmental settings. $a$: AR approach--the participant equipped with the OST HMD is interacting with the three IPT visualizations studied in this paper for data analysis. Note: the three visualizations are not placed together in one scene as the figure shows; they are placed individually in three different switchable interfaces in the AR app. $b$: Conventional computer with 2D screen--the IPT visualization is placed in a Matlab visualization window for participants to interact with. The 2D figure represents the surface information while 3D figures represent the volumetric information of the polymer materials used in the study.