This study was a combination and continuation of previous studies done by BGSU graduate students and faculty. It explored the use of interactive 3D stereo graphics as a component in the delivery of instructions for a construction task and compared this to a non-stereo version as well as a paper-based approach. The principal goal was to determine the relative effectiveness of the three approaches as measured by time to completion and accuracy. A secondary goal was to determine the role of inherent object complexity on performance as measured by time to completion.
In terms of accuracy, the results show no signicant differences between any of the presentations. However, they also show that subjects in the stereo condition were the slowest, with paper being slightly faster and non-stereo being the best overall. Further, an analysis of time (in seconds) per rotation reveals that the subjects in the stereo condition rotated the models less frequently than subjects in the non-stereo condition. In terms of inherent object complexity, larger amounts of space between parts of an object increases construction time.