Mixed reality prototyping for usability evaluation in product design: a case study of a handheld printer

Abstract

Prototyping is a critical step in the usability evaluation for product design. The maturity and affordability of mixed reality technology provide an opportunity to explore its application in prototyping. This study explored a flexible solution to create the mixed reality prototype for a handheld product by employing 3D printing, interactive 3D simulation, electronic prototyping platform, and Microsoft HoloLens. A comparative experiment was conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed prototype solution for usability evaluation. The results demonstrated that usability testing using the mixed prototype can accurately reveal changes in user performance across different task complexities, functional attributes, and physical contexts. The subjective assessments of product usability using the mixed prototype were highly consistent with the actual product. However, the absolute value of performance obtained from usability testing with the mixed prototype may deviate from the true value. In conclusion, mixed prototypes are more suitable for comparing the usability of different design alternatives under different conditions rather than obtaining an absolute measure of usability. This study establishes a significant theoretical foundation for product design assessment utilizing mixed prototypes, while providing practical guidance to designers and developers regarding the evaluation of product usability using mixed prototypes.