# Designing Procedure Execution Tools with Emerging Technologies for Future Astronauts
## 5 Just-in-Time Training
### Research  
Our work on developing a prototype was divided into two main tasks. The first task which we called \"path visualization\" focused on guiding the participants to a tool or location. The reason we chose this first task is because tools and objects are frequently lost aboard the ISS and AR could be used to guide future astronauts to these locations based on embedded sensor data [35]. The second task, procedure execution, focused on providing just-in-time training and real-time feedback to an astronaut performing a typical procedure onboard the station. Before participants began their first task, they were asked to complete a training exercise (referred to as a warmup) to get them familiar with HoloLens interactions and selectors. Combined, these two aspects provided guidance which allowed users with no previous knowledge of the layout of the environment or details of the task to successfully navigate to a lost tool and complete a procedure execution task similar to what would be required onboard the ISS. We recruited sixteen participants across three versions of the prototype and asked them to complete path visualization and procedure execution tasks. We ran six participants using version one of the prototype, five participants in version two, and another five participants in version three of the prototype. After each usability study, we conducted a semi-structured interview where we asked participants to describe their experience using the HoloLens and any discussion difficulties they encountered completing our tasks. The focus of the path visualization task was to create a guidance system that would help astronauts find their desired tool or destination onboard the space station. We simulated the task of locating a missing tool by requiring users to retrieve tools from another room in the building. The guidance was presented as a continuous line of holographic arrows in the augmented reality display. These arrows led users to the room and then, within the room, guided them to the precise location of the tool. The arrows on the line were generated at fixed intervals, and the path was fixed within the environment such that users would always have an arrow indicating the direction they should head in their field of view. Initial prototypes placed individual holographic arrows on walls with no line to follow, which produced confusion and made it more challenging for users to begin walking towards their desired destination. We were able to identify these points of confusion based on interviews where we asked participants to describe their subjective experience out loud during the entirety of both tasks. This feedback was used to measure subjective usability and that data was used to improve the interface in subsequent versions. We also measured performance by counting the number of tools each participant could successfully identify. If participants routinely failed at finding a tool, that was a clear indication that we were not providing the appropriate cues and affordances. During the procedure execution part of the usability studies, we focused on providing new features and functionality beyond what is currently available for astronauts with PDF or web-based procedures. Our prototype guided the user through the procedure by providing a holographic animation for each step within the procedure and provided a holographic user interface (UI) to display the procedure step in context. We developed a shortened procedure based on a complex research task onboard ISS. This task was selected not just because of its similarity to ISS activities, but also because it required objects to be in specific orientations, which is difficult to communicate properly to astronauts in microgravity. The procedure required the user to manipulate objects and place them in specific orientations, which leveraged holographic animation overlays. The goal of this procedure was to remove an object from one box and transfer it into a separate box.