Experimental Analysis of Single Mode Switching Techniques in Augmented Reality.

This paper presents an empirical evaluation of mode switching techniques for Augmented Reality (AR) headsets. We conducted a quantitative analysis exploring five techniques for switching between modes: a hardware button press, 3D virtual button press, non-preferred hand, reach depth, and voice. Results from our study support the benefits of non-preferred mode switching, showing non-preferred and depth mode switching to be faster than voice and the virtual button techniques. Depth, however, had significantly more errors compared to the other techniques. Our work lays a foundation for developers to design new mode switching techniques and guides the design of current hardware solutions around choosing techniques that best compliment application use.