Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) and indoor sensing increasingly support decision-making in spatial environments. However, traditional visualization methods impose a substantial mental workload when viewers translate this digital information into real-world spaces, leading to inappropriate reliance on AI. Embedded visualizations in Augmented Reality (AR), by integrating information into physical environments, may reduce this workload and foster more appropriate reliance on AI. To assess this, we conducted an empirical study (N = 32) comparing an AR embedded visualization (X-ray) and 2D Minimap in AI-assisted, time-critical spatial target selection tasks. Surprisingly, evidence shows that the embedded visualization led to greater inappropriate reliance on AI, primarily as over-reliance, due to factors like perceptual challenges, visual proximity illusions, and highly realistic visual representations. Nonetheless, the embedded visualization showed benefits in spatial mapping. We conclude by discussing empirical insights, design implications, and directions for future research on human-AI collaborative decision in AR.
Jan 1, 2026
Abstract Spatiotemporal sensitivity to high frequency information declines with increased peripheral eccentricity. Foveated rendering exploits this by decreasing the spatial resolution of rendered images in peripheral vision, reducing the rendering cost by omitting high frequency details. As foveation levels increase, the rendering quality is reduced, and traditional foveated rendering systems tend not to preserve samples that were previously rendered at high spatial resolution in previous frames. Additionally, prior research has shown that saccade landing positions are distributed around a target location rather than landing at a single point, and that even during fixations, eyes perform small microsaccades around a fixation point. This creates an opportunity for sampling from temporally neighbouring frames with differing foveal locations to reduce the required rendered size of the foveal region while achieving a higher perceived image quality. We further observe that the temporal presentation of pixels frame-to-frame can be viewed as a data stream, presenting a random sampling problem. Following this intuition, we propose a Weighted Reservoir Sampling technique to efficiently maintain a reservoir of the perceptually relevant high quality pixel samples from previous frames and incorporate them into the computation of the current frame. This allows the renderer to render a smaller region of foveal pixels per frame by temporally reusing pixel samples that are still relevant to reconstruct a higher perceived image quality, while allowing for higher levels of foveation. Our method operates on the output of foveated rendering, and runs in under 1 ms at 4K resolution, making it highly efficient and integrable with real-time VR and AR foveated rendering systems.
Dec 1, 2025
Abstract Subjective measures, such as the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), Fast Motion Sickness Questionnaire (FMS), and discomfort scores, are widely used to assess cybersickness, but they often interrupt the user experience and are prone to bias. To overcome these limitations, researchers have also investigated objective indicators, though some approaches, such as using physiological data, can be cumbersome and impractical. Based on the loss of complexity hypothesis, which suggests that certain conditions, such as disease or aging, can produce a reduction of complexity in physiological system dynamics, we conducted an initial investigation of the relationship between movement complexity and cybersickness. We analyzed motion tracking collected from two previous cybersickness studies using the d95 score, a complexity metric derived using principal component analysis.
Jan 1, 2025
Abstract This paper investigates the influence of X-ray vision metaphors on distance estimation in optical-see-through augmented reality (AR) in action space. A within-subjects study (N=30) was conducted to evaluate depth judgments across five conditions, including a novel “invisible mesh” technique. Participants performed a series of blind walking tasks that required estimating the depth of AR objects displayed at multiple distance ranges in front or behind a physical occluding surface. Although quantitative results regarding the impact of different X-ray vision metaphors on distance perception were inconclusive, participant feedback revealed a diversity of strategies and preferences. Overall, the findings suggest that no single metaphor was considered universally superior, and multiple X-ray vision metaphors may be suitable for different users and situations. This research contributes to understanding of X-ray vision techniques and informs the design considerations for AR systems aiming to enhance depth perception and user experience.
Apr 15, 2024
Abstract When faced with learning new algorithms, students often struggle with recognizing the details of the algorithm or with understanding the meaning of its intermediate stages and interpreting the results. These difficulties typically stem from the inherent inadequacies of using static representations to describe dynamic systems. We have developed the guided walk-through experience, Walk Me Through It, as a way for users to, not only visualize but interact, with every stage of common graph traversal algorithms, Breadth-First Search and Depth-First Search. Users must construct their own map of the room layout and connections between them by collecting room Tokens as they navigate the maze implemented with Flexible Spaces.
Jan 1, 2024
Abstract Trigonometry is important to a diverse set of fields. However, it is often a difficult topic for students to learn. This is most commonly due to a difficulty of visualizing the concepts and understanding how they are related. Currently, there are not many widespread tools that encourage the exploration and physical interaction of trigonometry. Build Your Own Trigonometric Adventure (BYOTA) aims to help students gain a better understanding of trigonometric concepts by using them to manipulate terrain geometry in a virtual reality experience. Users can build the terrain around them by modeling a trigonometric equation, view their rotations in multiple unit circle modes, and view the equations that were used to create the specific hills and valleys. They can also directly manipulate the virtual world using World-in-Miniature (WIM), which allows them to customize the terrain and place objects in the environment using a handheld 3D map. BYOTA’s objective is to enhance comprehension and encourage playful exploration of trigonometry in virtual reality, offering a concrete way to engage students with abstract mathematical concepts that they often struggle to learn.
Jan 1, 2024
Abstract The decoupled relationship between the optical and inertial information in virtual reality is commonly acknowledged as a major factor contributing to cybersickness. Based on laws of physics, we noticed that a slope naturally affords acceleration, and the gravito-inertial force we experience when we are accelerating freely on a slope has the same relative direction and approximately the same magnitude as the gravity we experience when standing on the ground. This provides the opportunity to simulate a slope by manipulating the orientation of virtual objects accordingly with the accelerating optical flow. In this paper, we present a novel space deformation technique that deforms the virtual environment to replicate the structure of a slope when the user accelerates virtually. As a result, we can restore the physical relationship between the optical and inertial information available to the user. However, the changes to the geometry of the virtual environment during space deformation remain perceptible to users. Consequently, we created two different transition effects, pinch and tilt, which provide different visual experiences of ground bending. A human subject study (N=87) was conducted to evaluate the effects of space deformation on both slope perception and cyber-sickness. The results confirmed that the proposed technique created a strong feeling of traveling on a slope, but no significant differences were found on measures of discomfort and cybersickness.
May 1, 2023
Abstract In this paper, we propose a potential cybersickness mitigation technique, redirected tilting, and conduct an exploratory virtual reality (VR) study to determine whether it is possible to visually induce head tilt during virtual locomotion. Redirected tilting involves rotating the virtual environment (VE) towards the turning direction around the VR headset’s roll axis, which we hypothesize could lead users to tilt their bodies in the same direction and maintain balance during curved paths. Unlike previous techniques, like field of view (FOV) restriction or rest frames, this method could potentially reduce cybersickness by manipulating egocentric self-motion rather than modifying visual characteristics of the VE. As an initial exploration, we conducted a within-subjects study with 30 participants to evaluate the effect of redirected tilting on postural behavior. The results showed that the proposed technique was successful in eliciting head tilt, although the magnitude of rotation was not as large as we had expected. We conclude that further investigation is needed to understand the mechanics, ideal parameters, and applications of redirected tilting.
Feb 1, 2021