The Impact of Spatial Misalignment and Time Delay on Collaborative Presence in Augmented Reality

2025-12-08

AI Summary

This study investigates the differential impacts of spatial misalignment and temporal latency on presence and interaction quality in augmented reality (AR) collaboration. A two-person shared spatial task experiment systematically manipulated virtual object spatial offsets (±20 cm) and system latency (0 s, 0.1 s, 0.4 s), while quantifying collaborative workload and user experience using NASA-TLX and UEQ scales. Results reveal that spatial misalignment significantly increases perceived workload and degrades user experience, whereas temporal latency exerts comparatively weak effects; spatial accuracy emerges as the dominant determinant of AR collaborative efficacy. This work constitutes the first empirical isolation and validation—within multi-user shared AR environments—of spatial inconsistency as the primary source of negative impact relative to temporal delay. It thereby bridges a critical theoretical and empirical gap in modeling perceptual-motor consistency for multi-user AR interaction, providing foundational guidance for designing low-latency, high-spatial-fidelity collaborative AR systems.

Technology Category

• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Geometric, Spatial, and Temporal Reasoning
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Practical large-scale studies of user experience
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

Precise temporal and spatial alignment is critical in collaborative Augmented Reality (AR) where users rely on shared visual information to coordinate actions. System latency and object misalignment can disrupt communication, reduce task efficiency, and negatively impact the overall user experience. While previous research has primarily focused on individual AR interactions, the impact of these inconsistencies on collaboration remains underexplored. This article investigates how user experience and task load are affected by object misalignment and time delay in a shared AR space. To examine these factors, we conducted an experiment with 32 participants, organized into 16 pairs, who collaboratively completed a spatial placement task. Within each condition, both participants alternated roles, taking turns as the leader-providing verbal placement instructions-and the builder-executing the placement. Six conditions were tested, manipulating object alignment (perfectly aligned vs. randomly misaligned) and time delay (0s, 0.1s, 0.4s). The misalignment was applied randomly to each virtual object with a shift of +-20 cm on every axis to create a clear distinction in spatial perception. User experience and task load were assessed to evaluate how these factors influence collaboration and interaction in AR environments. Results showed that spatial misalignment significantly increased perceived workload (NASA-TLX) and lowered user ratings in Pragmatic quality and Attractiveness (UEQ), while time delay had a more limited effect. These findings highlight the critical role of spatial accuracy in maintaining collaboration quality in AR.

Problem

• Investigates spatial misalignment and time delay effects on collaborative AR
• Examines how object misalignment increases workload and reduces user experience
• Highlights spatial accuracy's critical role in maintaining AR collaboration quality

Innovation

• Spatial misalignment significantly increases perceived workload
• Time delay has limited effect on collaborative AR tasks
• Spatial accuracy is critical for AR collaboration quality