Traversing Dual Realities: Investigating Techniques for Transitioning 3D Objects between Desktop and Augmented Reality Environments

Desktop environments can integrate augmented reality (AR) head-worn devices to support 3D representations, visualizations, and interactions in a novel yet familiar setting. As users navigate across the dual realities -- desktop and AR -- a way to move 3D objects between them is needed. We devise three baseline transition techniques based on common approaches in the literature and evaluate their usability and practicality in an initial user study (N=18). After refining both our transition techniques and the surrounding technical setup, we validate the applicability of the overall concept for real-world activities in an expert user study (N=6). In it, computational chemists followed their usual desktop workflows to build, manipulate, and analyze 3D molecular structures, but now aided with the addition of AR and our transition techniques. Based on our findings from both user studies, we provide lessons learned and takeaways for the design of 3D object transition techniques in desktop + AR environments.