WarpVision: Using Spatial Curvature to Guide Attention in Virtual Reality

With the advent of consumer-targeted, low-cost virtual reality devices and facile authoring technologies, the development and design of experiences in virtual reality are also becoming more accessible to non-expert authors. However, the inherent freedom of exploration in these virtual spaces presents a significant challenge for designers seeking to guide user attention toward points and objects of interest. This paper proposes the new technique WarpVision, which utilizes spatial curvature to subtly guide the user's attention in virtual reality. WarpVision distorts an area around the point of interest, thus changing the size, form, and location of all objects and the space around them. In this way, the user's attention can be guided even when the point of interest is not in the immediate field of vision. WarpVision is evaluated in a user study based on a within-subjects design, comparing it to the state-of-the-art technique Deadeye. Participants completed visual search tasks across two virtual environments being supported with WarpVision at four different intensities. Results show that WarpVision significantly reduces search times compared to Deadeye. While both techniques introduce comparable levels of immersion disruption, WarpVision has a lower reported impact on the user's well-being.