Exploring Virtual Object Translation in Head-Mounted Augmented Reality for Upper Limb Motor Rehabilitation with Motor Performance and Eye Movement Characteristics

Abstract

Head-mounted augmented reality (AR) technology is currently employed in upper limb motor rehabilitation, and the degrees of freedom (DoF) of virtual object translation modes become critical for rehabilitation tasks in AR settings. Since motor performance is the primary focus of motor rehabilitation, this study assessed it across different translation modes (1DoF and 3DoF) via task efficiency and accuracy analysis. In addition, eye movement characteristics were used to further illustrate motor performance. This research revealed 1DoF and 3DoF modes showing their own benefits in upper limb motor rehabilitation tasks. Finally, this study recommended selecting or integrating these two translation modes for future rehabilitation task design.