Applying Paper Prototyping to Design an AR Teaching Tool for Novice Woodworkers Practicing Components Arrangement in Material Cutting

Abstract: This is a study focusing on Taiwanese university students in the field of vocational education. The research observed a woodworking product elective course in the Department of Industrial Design at National Cheng Kung University, where most students lack relevant experience and feel confused when learning about mechanical operations, physical applications, spatial concepts, and other aspects. The "components arrangement" stage is a crucial step from paper design to actual material processing, where students arrange the spare parts of their designs on the wood to be used, in a manner suitable for machine sawing, to achieve smooth, efficient processing, material saving, and aesthetic results. This stage is also where novices spend much time and feel hesitant during practice. Therefore, this study utilized paper prototyping to conduct operational pre-testing for an augmented reality (AR) woodworking cutting and arranging tool, allowing novice woodworkers to simulate AR-assisted tool operations intuitively and gather firsthand feedback to assist novices in arranging components. Experimental records indicate that during the experiment, researchers could quickly observe defects in AR system design and make rapid adjustments. After model updates, participants could focus on task operations. Through participant interviews, it was evident that users provided positive feedback on the AR teaching tool's willingness to increase practice frequency, reduce task completion time, improve satisfaction with wood grain arrangement, and enhance operational confidence. These results align with the real-time and non-destructive nature of AR tools, enabling students to try operations without worries, eliminate spatial cognition uncertainty, and increase practice frequency to reinforce component arrangement assumptions. This study confirms that early implementation of paper prototyping in AR tool design facilitates rapid operational simulation verification and process optimization, enhancing novice woodworkers' willingness to learn and motivation to operate in material cutting and arranging. This lays the foundation for the subsequent development of AR woodworking cutting and arranging teaching tools. The study also proposes some improvements for using paper prototyping in AR simulations to make simulated operations smoother and more immersive.

Keywords: Augmented Reality, Paper Prototyping, Vocational Education and Training, Cutting Diagram

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005403

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