2/6/2025 | 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM | Regency A

JPI-first Pending (JPI-0197): Effectiveness of visual, auditory, and haptic guidance cues for visual targets in virtual environments

Author(s)

Hila Sabouni | Iowa State University

Abstract

Virtual reality is increasingly being utilized in domains like training, education, and entertainment, as it can provide a more immersive and interactive experience. Maintaining this immersion necessitates a well-integrated guidance system to prevent any inconsistencies that could conflict with the environment and break the sense of immersion. However, the design of such guidance cues can be a challenge. This research explored the effectiveness of three different attention guidance cues, an extended field of view through a rear-view mirror (passive guidance), and audio alerts and haptic alerts (active guidance), in a scavenger hunt-style visual search task. A control condition with no guidance was included. Participants were tasked with visually searching and locating seven specified paintings in a virtual environment of the remodeled Louvre Museum. Performance was primarily evaluated through qualitative surveys as well as two quantitative metrics: the frequency with which users checked the task list of seven paintings and the total time to complete the task. Results indicated that haptic feedback was significantly more effective at reducing the frequency to check the task list when compared to the control condition. Audio feedback was also effective. The rear-view mirror was the least effective. Unexpectedly, the guidance cues did not reduce task completion time. The insights from this research offer virtual reality designers a valuable approach to constructing more responsive virtual environments through the use of effective attentional guidance cues.