Comparative Analysis of Mission Planning and Execution Times Between the Microsoft HoloLens and the Surface Touch Table

In this paper, we present results of an investigation comparing two visualization technologies: the Microsoft HoloLens and the Microsoft Surface Touch Table. Two-person teams (dyads) played the role of commander’s staff tasked with planning the most efficient and safest mission route for a squad of soldiers to extract a repository of intelligence documents from the ruins of a building located in enemy territory. Quantitative and qualitative measures of performance were collected. We focused on two performance measures: total mission planning time and mission execution time (the planned route run in a simulated execution mode). Surprisingly, there was a significant decrease in planning time when using the Surface Touch Table. The dyads needed on average 86% more time to plan the mission using the HoloLens. Additionally, this increase in mission planning time associated with the HoloLens did not produce a more optimal mission solution. In a search for understanding the unexpected results, a content analysis of a preferred visualization questionnaire is described. Analysis results suggested: a more realistic scene invited unnecessary exploration instead of focused time on task; becoming familiar with the HoloLens spilled over into task time; collaborative and communication difficulties stemmed from the HoloLens being designed as a single-user device.