A Neurophysiological Evaluation of Cognitive Load during Augmented Reality Interactions in Various Industrial Maintenance and Assembly Tasks

Augmented reality (AR) has been shown to improve productivity in industry, but its adverse effects (e.g., headaches, eye strain, nausea, and mental workload) on users warrant further investigation. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of different instruction methods (i.e., HoloLens AR-based and paper-based instructions) and task complexity (low and high-demanding tasks) on cognitive workloads and performance. Twenty-eight healthy males with a mean age of 32.12 (SD 2.45) years were recruited in this study and were randomly divided into two groups. The first group performed the experiment using AR-based instruction, and the second group used paper-based instruction. Performance was measured using total task time (TTT). The cognitive workload was measured using the power of electroencephalograph (EEG) features and the NASA task load index (NASA TLX). The results showed that using AR instructions resulted in a reduction in maintenance times and an increase in mental workload compared to paper instructions, particularly for the more demanding tasks. With AR instruction, 0.45% and 14.94% less time was spent on low- and high-demand tasks, respectively, as compared to paper instructions. According to the EEG features, employing AR to guide employees during highly demanding maintenance tasks increased information processing, which could be linked with an increased germane cognitive load. Increased germane cognitive load means participants can better facilitate long-term knowledge and skill acquisition. These results suggested that AR is superior and recommended for highly demanding maintenance tasks since it speeds up maintenance times and increases the possibility that information is stored in long-term memory and encrypted for recalls.