Analyzing the Impact of Augmented Reality Head-Mounted Displays on Workers’ Safety and Situational Awareness in Hazardous Industrial Settings

Augmented Reality Head-Mounted Displays (AR-HMDs) have proven effective to assist workers. However, they may degrade their Safety and Situational Awareness (SSA), particularly in complex and hazardous industrial settings. This paper analyzes, objectively and subjectively, the effects of AR-HMDs’ on workers’ SSA in a simulated hazardous industrial environment. Our evaluation was comprised of sixty participants performing various tasks in a simulated cargo ship room while receiving remote guidance through one of three devices: two off-the-shelf AR-HMDs (Trimble XR10 with HoloLens 2, RealWear Navigator 520), and a smartphone (Google Pixel 6). Several sensors were installed throughout the room to obtain quantitative measures of the participants’ safe execution of the tasks, such as the frequency in which they hit the objects in the room or stepped over simulated holes or oil spills. The results reported that the Trimble XR10 led to statistically highest head-knockers and knee-knocker incidents compared to the Navigator 520 and the Pixel 6. Furthermore, the Trimble XR10 also led to significantly higher difficulties to cross hatch doors, lower perceived safety, comfort, perceived performance, and usability. Overall, participants wearing AR-HMDs failed to perceive more hazards, meaning that safety-preserving capabilities must be developed for AR-HMDs before introducing them into industrial hazardous settings confidently.