I Can't See That! Considering the Readability of Small Objects in Virtual Environments

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality Technology
• Usability Engineering

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) systems face challenges with small object interaction due to reduced visual acuity.
• Despite advancements in VR headset fidelity, usability issues persist for tasks involving intricate details.
• Real-world applications of VR necessitate solutions for effective interaction with small virtual objects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare three techniques for enhancing the usability of small objects in virtual environments.
• To evaluate the impact of these techniques on user experience, including usability, presence, and knowledge retention.
• To inform the design of future virtual reality applications for improved small object interaction.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study was conducted evaluating three proposed techniques: in-place expansion, a zoomed-in twin, and a large text readout.
• Participants engaged in a VR training scenario simulating a geoscience task (measuring strike and dip).
• Data collected included usability metrics, induced presence, and short-term knowledge retention.

Main Results:

• Participant feedback confirmed the need for research into VR small object interaction.
• In-place expansion alone may not sufficiently improve usability for information-bearing objects.
• Large text readouts accelerated task completion but negatively impacted real-world knowledge transfer.

Conclusions:

• Different techniques offer trade-offs between task efficiency and knowledge retention in VR.
• Design choices for small object interaction in VR should consider the specific application and learning objectives.
• Further research is needed to optimize VR interactions for diverse real-world applications.