Augmented reality is projected to be a primary mode of information consumption on the go, seamlessly integrating virtual content into the physical world. However, the potential perceptual demands of viewing virtual annotations while navigating a physical environment could impact user efficacy and safety, and the implications of these demands are not well understood. Here, we investigate the impact of virtual path guidance and augmentation density (visual clutter) on search performance and memory. Participants walked along a predefined path, searching for physical or virtual items. They experienced two levels of augmentation density, and either walked freely or with enforced speed and path guidance. Augmentation density impacted behavior and reduced awareness of uncommon objects in the environment. Analysis of search task performance and post-experiment item recall revealed differing attention to physical and virtual objects. On the basis of these findings we outline considerations for AR apps designed for use on the go.

翻译：增强现实有望成为移动场景下信息获取的主要方式，它能将虚拟内容无缝融入物理世界。然而，在物理环境中导航时观看虚拟标注可能带来的感知负荷，可能影响用户效能与安全性，这些负荷的影响机制尚未得到充分理解。本研究探讨了虚拟路径引导与增强密度（视觉杂乱度）对搜索绩效与记忆的影响。参与者沿预定路径行走，同时搜索物理或虚拟目标。实验设置了两种增强密度水平，参与者可自由行走或受控于强制速度与路径引导。结果表明：增强密度影响行为表现，并降低对环境非常见物体的感知度；对搜索任务绩效与实验后物品回忆的分析揭示了参与者对物理和虚拟物体的注意力分配差异。基于这些发现，我们为移动增强现实应用的设计提出了若干考量要点。