The research presented here empirically evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of sand table terrain model construction on 2 sand tables: a traditional table using a terrain kit and an Augmented REality Sandtable (ARES) that provides a digital interface and visual overlay projected on a traditional sand table. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of a tangible interface augmented with advanced digital overlays compared to traditional methods on construction accuracy and efficiency, perceived workload, and knowledge retention. Participants were 55 active duty Soldiers E1–E5 from the 3rd Infantry Division at Ft Stewart in Hinesville, Georgia. Results demonstrated that the augmented sand table, ARES, resulted in significantly higher-quality ratings overall for the terrain model based on a global rating scale, as well as specifically on a focused evaluation of topography item placement and accuracy. Perceived workload and utility both demonstrated an advantage of ARES compared to the traditional table. This, however, did not translate into differences in post-knowledge scores, which may be attributable to the low experience level of the participants with sand tables and topographical maps. This study represents the first investigation of the utility of a digitally enhanced sand table compared to traditional sand-table-on-sand-table construction with an Army operational unit.
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