Screen-based Augmented Reality (AR) systems can be built as a window into thereal world as often done in mobile AR applications or using the Magic Mirrormetaphor, where users can see themselves with augmented graphics on a largedisplay. Such Magic Mirror systems have been used in digital clothingenvironments to create virtual dressing rooms, to teach human anatomy, and forcollaborative design tasks. The term Magic Mirror implies that the displayshows the users enantiomorph, i.e. the mirror image, such that the systemmimics a real-world physical mirror. However, the question arises whether oneshould design a traditional mirror, or instead display the true mirror image bymeans of a non-reversing mirror? This is an intriguing perceptual question, asthe image one observes in a mirror is not a real view, as it would be seen byan external observer, but a reflection, i.e. a front-to-back reversed image. Inthis paper, we discuss the perceptual differences between these two mirrorvisualization concepts and present a first comparative study in the context ofMagic Mirror anatomy teaching. We investigate the ability of users to identifythe correct placement of virtual anatomical structures in our screen-based ARsystem for two conditions: a regular mirror and a non-reversing mirror setup.The results of our study indicate that the latter is more suitable forapplications where previously acquired domain-specific knowledge plays animportant role. The lessons learned open up new research directions in thefields of user interfaces and interaction in non-reversing mirror environmentsand could impact the implementation of general screen-based AR systems in otherdomains.
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