A comfort analysis of AR glasses on physical load during long-term wearing.

The present study investigated the effect of the physical load of augmented reality (AR) glasses on subjective assessments for an extended duration of a video viewing task. Ninety-six subjects were recruited for this test and were divided by spectacle use, sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). Four glasses frame weights were assessed. To investigate their effectiveness, a novel prototype adopting three design interventions, (1) adjustable frame width, (2) ergonomic temples, and (3) fixed centre of gravity, was designed with regard to subjective discomfort ratings (nose, ear, and overall). Subjective discomfort in all regions was significantly increased with increasing physical load on the nose. In addition, non-spectacle users, women, older users, and participants in the middle BMI category reported higher discomfort than other groups. This finding could have important implications for the ergonomic design of AR glasses and could help to identify design considerations relevant to the emerging wearable display industry. Practitioner summary: This research aims to explore the influence of the physical load of augmented reality (AR) glasses. It found that discomfort was increased with added nose load. Non-spectacle users, women, older users, and participants in the middle BMI category were more sensitive to discomfort. The results have important implications for glasses-type wearables' design.

Effect of prolonged wear and frame tightness of AR glasses on comfort.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of frame tightness on the wearing comfort of augmented reality (AR) glasses during a prolonged video viewing task. A frame prototype of AR glasses with an adjustable frame width was adopted to accommodate variations in head size within the Chinese population, and two hundred participants were recruited to wear the glasses for an hour under five different tightness conditions. Local and overall discomfort ratings were obtained as outcome measures, and the ratings exhibited a significant increase with higher tightness levels. Furthermore, females and older people reported greater discomfort than other participants did, whereas previous spectacle use and body type had nonsignificant effects on wearing comfort. Consideration of approaches to alleviate frame tightness is crucial in the design of AR glasses targeting females and older people. These findings provide valuable ergonomic insights for AR glasses design and offer considerations applicable to the glasses-type wearable device industry.

Review on Hydrophobic Thin Films Prepared Using Magnetron Sputtering Deposition.

Hydrophobic thin films have gained significant attention due to their broad applications in self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, anti-icing, medicine, oil-water separation, and other fields. The target hydrophobic materials can be deposited onto various surfaces thanks to the scalable and highly reproducible nature of magnetron sputtering, which is comprehensively overviewed in this review. While alternative preparation methods have been extensively analyzed, a systematic understanding of hydrophobic thin films fabricated using magnetron sputtering deposition is still absent. After outlining the fundamental mechanism of hydrophobicity, this review briefly summarizes three types of sputtering-deposited thin films that originate from oxides, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and diamond-like carbon (DLC), respectively, primarily focusing on the recent advances in their preparation, characteristics, and applications. Finally, the future applications, current challenges, and development of hydrophobic thin films are discussed, and a brief perspective on future research directions is provided.