ISO 9241-820:2024

Overview

ISO 9241-820:2024 - Ergonomics of human-system interaction - Part 820 provides ergonomic guidance for designing and using immersive environments, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR). The standard identifies human‑systems issues and interaction guidance for environments where users are virtually present, represented in real contexts, or interact with simulated objects. It focuses on user interactions, sensory modalities, 3D spatial considerations and safe, effective user experience design - not on the underlying hardware technologies or on philosophical, ethical or political debates.

Key Topics and Technical Focus

ISO 9241-820:2024 addresses practical ergonomic topics relevant to AR/VR system design:

• Terminology and definitions for realities, systems, ergonomic and interaction concepts.
• Unique characteristics of immersive environments, including visual, auditory and haptic modalities and 3D spatiality.
• Roles of immersive environments: escaping, enhancing or changing reality and managing transitions between real and virtual contexts.
• Guidance on immersion: completeness, naturalness, timing/synchronization, presence, flow, trust and user involvement.
• User interaction principles: controlling environment properties, obtaining real‑time information, multimodal presentation, movement and object interaction, feedback and recognition.
• Multi‑user support: user‑to‑user interaction, expectations for real users, and modelling virtual people.
• Safety and harm avoidance: preventing physical harm, managing emotional effects and avoiding sensory overload.

The standard emphasizes natural user interactions, multi‑modality, timely feedback and clear distinction between actions that affect the virtual environment and those that affect the real world.

Practical Applications

ISO 9241-820 is applicable to:

• AR/VR application and HMD designers seeking ergonomic interaction patterns.
• UX/UI designers and interaction engineers building immersive interfaces (gestures, haptics, spatial audio).
• Product managers and decision‑makers specifying usability and safety requirements for immersive systems.
• Developers of training simulators, collaborative virtual workspaces, medical rehabilitation tools, industrial maintenance aids, and immersive entertainment.
• Regulators and procurement teams using ergonomics guidance for standards‑based evaluation and acceptance.

Use cases include designing natural movement and object manipulation, reducing simulator sickness, controlling sensory load, and supporting safe multi‑user collaboration.

Who Should Use This Standard

Decision‑makers, designers, engineers, researchers, technology developers, regulators and legislators will find this guidance valuable when addressing human‑systems issues in immersive environments.

Related Standards

ISO 9241-820 complements the broader ISO 9241 ergonomics of human‑system interaction series and other human‑centred design and safety standards used when specifying AR/VR usability, accessibility and risk management.