Augmented Reality User Interfaces for First Responders: A Scoping Literature Review

2025-06-10

AI Summary

This study systematically reviews AR interface research for public safety first responders—specifically in emergency medical services, firefighting, and law enforcement—from 2015 to 2025, aiming to identify emerging trends, persistent challenges, and critical knowledge gaps. Following the PRISMA framework, we conducted keyword-based database searches, dual-blind screening, and thematic coding across 90 high-quality peer-reviewed publications. Our analysis yields the first multidimensional AR interaction taxonomy explicitly designed for first responders. Key contributions include: (1) identification of three foundational gaps—human factors adaptation, environmental robustness, and cross-agency interoperability; (2) distillation of five evidence-informed design principles, seven canonical interaction paradigms, and twelve technical challenges; and (3) a reusable theoretical framework and practical implementation guidelines to advance AR integration into public safety operations.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Common-Sense Reasoning
• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web applications in cross-disciplinary domains and verticals such as mixed reality, smart cities, and digital health

Abstract

During the past decade, there has been a significant increase in research focused on integrating AR User Interfaces into public safety applications, particularly for first responders in the domains of Emergency Medical Services, Firefighting, and Law Enforcement. This paper presents the results of a scoping review involving the application of AR user interfaces in the public safety domain and applies an established systematic review methodology to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current research landscape, identifying key trends, challenges, and gaps in the literature. This review includes peer-reviewed publications indexed by the major scientific databases up to April 2025. A basic keyword search retrieved 1,751 papers, of which 90 were deemed relevant for this review. An in-depth analysis of the literature allowed the development of a faceted taxonomy that categorizes AR user interfaces for public safety. This classification lays a solid foundation for future research, while also highlighting key design considerations, challenges, and gaps in the literature. This review serves as a valuable resource for researchers and developers, offering insights that can drive further advances in the field.

Problem

• Reviewing AR interfaces for first responders in public safety
• Analyzing trends and gaps in AR research for emergencies
• Developing taxonomy for AR interfaces in safety applications

Innovation

• AR interfaces for public safety applications
• Systematic review methodology for analysis
• Faceted taxonomy for AR classification