Effects of a Distracting Background and Focal Switching Distance in an Augmented Reality System
Mohammed Safayet Arefin, Nate Phillips, Alexander Plopski, and J. Edward Swan II. Effects of a Distracting Background and Focal Switching Distance in an Augmented Reality System. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Perceptual and Cognitive Issues in XR (PERCxR), IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct), pp. 96–99, IEEE Computer Society, October 2021. DOI: 10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct54149.2021.00029.
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Abstract
Many augmented reality (AR) applications require observers to shift their gaze between AR and real-world content. To date, commercial optical see-through (OST) AR displays have presented content at either a single focal distance, or at a small number of fixed focal distances. Meanwhile, real-world stimuli can occur at a variety of focal distances. Therefore, when shifting gaze between AR and real-world content, in order to view new content in sharp focus, observers must often change their eye's accommodative state. When performed repetitively, this can negatively affect task performance and eye fatigue. However, these effects may be under reported, because past research has not yet considered the potential additional effect of distracting real world backgrounds. An experimental method that analyzes background effects is presented, using a text-based visual search task that requires integrating information presented in both AR and the real world. An experiment is reported, which examined the effect of a distracting background versus a blank background, at focal switching distances of 0, 1.33, 2.0, and 3.33 meters. Qualitatively, a majority of the participants reported that the distracting background made the task more difficult and fatiguing. Quantitatively, increasing the focal switching distance resulted in reduced task performance and increased eye fatigue. However, changing the background, between blank and distracting, did not result in significant measured differences. Suggestions are given for further efforts to examine background effects.
BibTeX
@InProceedings{PERCxR21,
author = {Mohammed Safayet Arefin and Nate Phillips and Alexander Plopski
and J. Edward {Swan~II}},
title = {Effects of a Distracting Background and Focal Switching Distance
in an Augmented Reality System},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Workshop on Perceptual and Cognitive Issues
in XR (PERCxR), IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented
Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct)},
year = 2021,
location = {Bari, Italy},
publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},
date = {October 4--8},
month = {October},
pages = {96--99},
note = {DOI: <a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct54149.2021.00029">10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct54149.2021.00029</a>.},
abstract = {
Many augmented reality (AR) applications require observers to shift
their gaze between AR and real-world content. To date, commercial optical
see-through (OST) AR displays have presented content at either a single focal
distance, or at a small number of fixed focal distances. Meanwhile, real-world
stimuli can occur at a variety of focal distances. Therefore, when shifting
gaze between AR and real-world content, in order to view new content in sharp
focus, observers must often change their eye's accommodative state. When
performed repetitively, this can negatively affect task performance and eye
fatigue. However, these effects may be under reported, because past research
has not yet considered the potential additional effect of distracting real world
backgrounds.
An experimental method that analyzes background effects is presented, using a
text-based visual search task that requires integrating information presented in
both AR and the real world. An experiment is reported, which examined the
effect of a distracting background versus a blank background, at focal switching
distances of 0, 1.33, 2.0, and 3.33 meters. Qualitatively, a majority of the
participants reported that the distracting background made the task more
difficult and fatiguing. Quantitatively, increasing the focal switching
distance resulted in reduced task performance and increased eye fatigue.
However, changing the background, between blank and distracting, did not result
in significant measured differences. Suggestions are given for further efforts
to examine background effects.
},
}