Assessing user performance in augmented reality assembly guidance for industry 4.0 operators

In the realm of smart manufacturing, Augmented Reality (AR) technology has gained increasing attention among researchers and manufacturers due to its practicality and adaptability. For this reason, it has been widely embraced in various industrial fields, especially for helping operators assemble products. Despite its widespread adoption, there is a debate in the research community about how effective AR is for improving user performance in assembly tasks, particularly when using handheld devices. These disparities can be attributed to differences in experimental approaches, such as the frequent use of qualitative methods, the inclusion of non-representative users, and the limited number of comprehensive case studies. In response to this, the paper delved into the benefits of AR applications, with a specific focus on measuring user performance and the cognitive workload perceived by users during assembly activities. To this end, an AR assembly guidance tool has been developed to assist users during assembly tasks, running on a mobile device, specifically a tablet, for freedom of movement and high portability. Experimentation involved the assembly of a comprehensive case study and a diverse user group, allowing the comparison representative users and experienced industrial operators. The results were promising, indicating that AR technology effectively enhances user performance during assembly-guided activities compared to conventional methods, particularly when users are unfamiliar with the task at hand. This study brings valuable insights by addressing previous research limitations and providing strong evidence of AR's positive impact on user performance in real-world assembly scenarios.