Eye-Wearable Technology for Machine Maintenance

Exciting developments in eye-wearable technology and its potential industrial applications warrant a thorough understanding of its advantages and drawbacks through empirical evidence. We conducted an experiment to investigate what characteristics of eye-wearable technology impact user performance in machine maintenance, which included a representative set of car maintenance tasks involving Locate, Manipulate, and Compare actions. Participants were asked to follow instructions displayed on one of four technologies: a peripheral eye-wearable display, a central eye-wearable display, a tablet, or a paper manual. We found a significant effect of display position: the peripheral eye-wearable display resulted in longer completion time than the central display; but no effect for hands-free operation. The technology effects were also modulated by different Tasks and Action types. We discuss the human factors implications for designing more effective eye-wearable technology, including display position, issues of monocular display, and how the physical proximity of the technology affects users' reliance level.