Augmented reality for sailing: a comparative study of head stabilized vs boat stabilized visualization data for wind and bearing angle

The wind has been a natural and renewable resource used for professional and recreational maritime transportation of small and large vessels since human history. Sailing is making a comeback due to the growing focus on sustainability, accelerated by the recent global energy crisis. Seafarers rely on wind and bearing angle visualization to navigate efficiently and safely, thanks to the use of sensors and compasses. This paper focuses on Augmented Reality in Head-Mounted Displays visualization of wind and bearing angle data. We analyzed the literature and generated a heatmap of the used areas in the user’s field of view. Second, we designed and implemented two interfaces that use two different visualization techniques: Boat Stabilized (BS) and Head Stabilized (HS). We compared them in between the subject experiment (N = 44), using a simulated Virtual Reality simulator of the sailing scenario. The user’s primary task is wind events recognition, while obstacles (buoys) detection is secondary. We measured both task errors and reaction time, and submit NASA RTLX, SUS, UEQ, and visive auditive and kinesthetic (VAK) questionnaires. We found that BS has a significantly lower reaction time and better usability in the primary and secondary tasks. Both visualization techniques have similar users perceived cognitive load and user experience evaluation. VAK test showed that BS is better for kinaesthetic types and HS is better for visual types.