Granulated Rest Frames Outperform Field of View Restrictors on Visual Search Performance

• Published in: Frontiers in virtual reality Vol. 2
• Main Authors: Cao, Zekun, Grandi, Jeronimo, Kopper, Regis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 31.05.2021
• Subjects: HCI; human performance; rest frames; virtual reality; visual search
• ISSN: 2673-4192; 2673-4192
• DOI: 10.3389/frvir.2021.604889

Dynamic field of view (FOV) restrictors have been successfully used to reduce visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) during continuous viewpoint motion control (virtual travel) in virtual reality (VR). This benefit, however, comes at the cost of losing peripheral awareness during provocative motion. Likewise, the use of visual references that are stable in relation to the physical environment, called rest frames (RFs), has also been shown to reduce discomfort during virtual travel tasks in VR. We propose a new RF-based design called Granulated Rest Frames (GRFs) with a soft-edged circular cutout in the center that leverages the rest frames’ benefits without completely blocking the user’s peripheral view. The GRF design is application-agnostic and does not rely on context-specific RFs, such as commonly used cockpits. We report on a within-subjects experiment with 20 participants. The results suggest that, by strategically applying GRFs during a visual search session in VR, we can achieve better item searching efficiency as compared to restricted FOV. The effect of GRFs on reducing VIMS remains to be determined by future work.