A Study on View Sharing AR Interface for Improving Situation Awareness during Military Operations

The purpose of this article is to propose a View Sharing Augmented Reality (AR) interface aimed at improving situation awareness (SA) during military operations. Battlefield Augmented Reality System (BARS), a mobile AR system, supports real-time battlefield situation awareness (SA) for mission execution through collaborative information sharing. Video-based View Sharing AR interface that provides the perspective of team members located remotely can enhance team-level SA. However, instances have been identified where providing the perspective of team members moving in directions different from the user’s path can lead to user confusion and have a negative impact on mission execution. In this study, we investigate the influence on SA when presenting the perspective of team members with different path direction through a View Sharing AR interface and to examine the impact of visual AR cues supporting spatial awareness on SA improvement. The study was designed to experience the View Sharing AR interface in a virtual reality (VR) environment using the Unity3D game engine. The experiments involved performing tasks to suppress enemies with three different path direction variances in perspective provision and receiving support from four visual AR cues. SA was measured through SA Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) and Performance measurement. The research findings indicate that differences in path direction negatively affected SA, with the lowest SA observed when the path difference was 90°. Furthermore, visual AR cues, when providing Tramline cues, demonstrated the highest SA, showing interaction effects with path direction differences.