Augmented Reality Enabled Asynchronous and Cross-Perspective Human Communication

About the Project

Applications are invited for a fully funded, multidisciplinary PhD in Psychology and Computing Science at the University of Stirling, focussing on the use of Augmented Reality (AR) technologies for asynchronous communication in multi-user teams.

Many complex operations involve teams working across different locations and at different times, in environments where direct communication is limited or unsafe. For example, personnel engaging in search and rescue tasks or navigating hazardous terrain may need to share information about threats, safe routes, or completed actions without being able to communicate verbally.

The PhD student will investigate how AR can be used to place persistent digital information into the real world. These digital markers, visible only through AR systems, could indicate hazards, safe paths, or areas that have already been searched. The central aim is to determine whether digitally embedded communication improves coordination, situational awareness, and decision making when teams cannot rely on direct interaction or line-of-sight.

The PhD will involve designing AR tools for asynchronous communication and testing these using behavioural experiments. Experiments will simulate tasks such as navigating complex environments, searching for targets, or monitoring for risks. Performance will be assessed using measures such as task completion time, error rates, path efficiency, and overlap in search behaviour between users, alongside measures of situational awareness and workload. The project will also examine reliability and trust. In some conditions, the AR information may be incomplete or incorrect, reflecting real-world limitations such as sensor error or misclassification. The PhD student will investigate how users respond to these situations and identify design choices that support appropriate use of uncertain or conflicting information.

The project is a collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and will examine how different types of annotations (for example, marking hazards, directions, or completed searches) can be used in practice to maintain a shared understanding of the environment over time. The PhD project is supervised across Psychology and Computing Science, offering a strong interdisciplinary focus on human behaviour and technical systems.

The ideal candidate would have the following: A 2:1 or better undergraduate degree or an MSc. in Computing, Psychology or a related subject (such as AI, Cognitive Science, or HCI for example). Experience in coding, particularly in the use of extended reality systems. Experience in conducting and analysing data in human behavioural experiments. Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Funding is via an EPSRC Industrial Doctoral Landscape Award studentship and covers fees and stipend for UK-fees eligible students only.