Comparing spatial understanding between touch-based and AR-style interaction

There are currently two primary ways of viewing location specific information in-situ on hand-held mobile device screens: using a see-through augmented reality interface and using a touch-based interface with panoramas. The two approaches use fundamentally different interaction metaphors: an AR-style of interacting where the user holds up the device and physically moves it to change views of the world, and a touch-based technique where panorama navigation is independent of the physical world. We have investigated how this difference in interaction technique impacts a user´s spatial understanding of the mixed reality world. Our study found that AR-style interaction provided better spatial understanding overall, while touch-based interaction changed the experience to have more similar characteristics to interaction in a separate virtual environment.