Dr. Gerd Bruder – Publications
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2021 |
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 | Kangsoo Kim; Nahal Norouzi; Dongsik Jo; Gerd Bruder; and Gregory F. Welch The Augmented Reality Internet of Things: Opportunities of Embodied Interactions in Transreality Book Chapter Forthcoming In: Nee, A Y C; Ong, S K (Ed.): Handbook of Augmented Reality , pp. 60, Springer , Forthcoming. @inbook{Kim2021, title = {The Augmented Reality Internet of Things: Opportunities of Embodied Interactions in Transreality}, author = {Kangsoo Kim and Nahal Norouzi and Dongsik Jo and Gerd Bruder and and Gregory F. Welch}, editor = {A. Y. C. Nee and S. K. Ong}, year = {2021}, date = {2021-09-01}, volume = {Handbook of Augmented Reality}, pages = {60}, publisher = {Springer }, abstract = {Human society is encountering a new wave of advancements related to smart connected technologies with the convergence of different traditionally separate fields, which can be characterized by a fusion of technologies that merge and tightly integrate the physical, digital, and biological spheres. In this new paradigm of convergence, all the physical and digital things will become more and more intelligent and connected to each other through the Internet, and the boundary between them will blur and become seamless. In particular, Augmented/Mixed Reality (AR/MR) combines virtual content with the real environment and is experiencing an unprecedented golden era along with dramatic technological achievements and increasing public interest. Together with advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ubiquitous computing empowered by the Internet of Things/Everything (IoT/IoE) systems, AR can be our ultimate interface to interact with both digital (virtual) and physical (real) worlds while pervasively mediating and enriching our lives. In this chapter, we describe the concept of transreality that symbiotically connects the physical and the virtual worlds incorporating the aforementioned advanced technologies, and illustrate how such transreality environments can transform our activities in it, providing intelligent and intuitive interaction with the environment while exploring prior research literature in this domain. We also present the potential of virtually embodied interactions—e.g., employing virtual avatars and agents—in highly connected transreality spaces for enhancing human abilities and perception. Recent ongoing research focusing on the effects of embodied interaction are described and discussed in different aspects such as perceptual, cognitive, and social contexts. The chapter will end with discussions on potential research directions in the future and implications related to the user experience in transreality.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {forthcoming}, tppubtype = {inbook} } Human society is encountering a new wave of advancements related to smart connected technologies with the convergence of different traditionally separate fields, which can be characterized by a fusion of technologies that merge and tightly integrate the physical, digital, and biological spheres. In this new paradigm of convergence, all the physical and digital things will become more and more intelligent and connected to each other through the Internet, and the boundary between them will blur and become seamless. In particular, Augmented/Mixed Reality (AR/MR) combines virtual content with the real environment and is experiencing an unprecedented golden era along with dramatic technological achievements and increasing public interest. Together with advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ubiquitous computing empowered by the Internet of Things/Everything (IoT/IoE) systems, AR can be our ultimate interface to interact with both digital (virtual) and physical (real) worlds while pervasively mediating and enriching our lives. In this chapter, we describe the concept of transreality that symbiotically connects the physical and the virtual worlds incorporating the aforementioned advanced technologies, and illustrate how such transreality environments can transform our activities in it, providing intelligent and intuitive interaction with the environment while exploring prior research literature in this domain. We also present the potential of virtually embodied interactions—e.g., employing virtual avatars and agents—in highly connected transreality spaces for enhancing human abilities and perception. Recent ongoing research focusing on the effects of embodied interaction are described and discussed in different aspects such as perceptual, cognitive, and social contexts. The chapter will end with discussions on potential research directions in the future and implications related to the user experience in transreality. |
 | Ryan Schubert; Gerd Bruder; Alyssa Tanaka; Francisco Guido-Sanz; Gregory F. Welch Mixed Reality Technology Capabilities for Combat-Casualty Handoff Training Inproceedings Forthcoming In: HCII VAMR, Springer, Forthcoming. @inproceedings{Schubert2021mixed, title = {Mixed Reality Technology Capabilities for Combat-Casualty Handoff Training}, author = {Ryan Schubert and Gerd Bruder and Alyssa Tanaka and Francisco Guido-Sanz and Gregory F. Welch}, year = {2021}, date = {2021-07-24}, booktitle = {HCII VAMR}, publisher = {Springer}, abstract = {Patient handoffs are a common, yet frequently error prone occurrence, particularly in complex or challenging battlefield situations. Specific protocols exist to help simplify and reinforce conveying of necessary information during a combat-casualty handoff, and training can both reinforce correct behavior and protocol usage while providing relatively safe initial exposure to many of the complexities and variabilities of real handoff situations, before a patient’s life is at stake. Here we discuss a variety of mixed reality capabilities and training contexts that can manipulate many of these handoff complexities in a controlled manner. We finally discuss some future human-subject user study design considerations, including aspects of handoff training, evaluation or improvement of a specific handoff protocol, and how the same technology could be leveraged for operational use.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {forthcoming}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Patient handoffs are a common, yet frequently error prone occurrence, particularly in complex or challenging battlefield situations. Specific protocols exist to help simplify and reinforce conveying of necessary information during a combat-casualty handoff, and training can both reinforce correct behavior and protocol usage while providing relatively safe initial exposure to many of the complexities and variabilities of real handoff situations, before a patient’s life is at stake. Here we discuss a variety of mixed reality capabilities and training contexts that can manipulate many of these handoff complexities in a controlled manner. We finally discuss some future human-subject user study design considerations, including aspects of handoff training, evaluation or improvement of a specific handoff protocol, and how the same technology could be leveraged for operational use. |
 | Austin Erickson; Kangsoo Kim; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Beyond Visible Light: User and Societal Impacts of Egocentric Multispectral Vision Inproceedings Forthcoming In: Chen, J Y C; Fragomeni, G (Ed.): In Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality, pp. 19, Springer Nature, Washington D.C, Forthcoming. @inproceedings{Erickson2020fb, title = {Beyond Visible Light: User and Societal Impacts of Egocentric Multispectral Vision}, author = {Austin Erickson and Kangsoo Kim and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, editor = {J. Y. C. Chen and G. Fragomeni}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/VAMR21-MSV.pdf}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-77599-5_23}, year = {2021}, date = {2021-07-24}, booktitle = {In Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality}, number = {23}, pages = {19}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {Washington D.C}, abstract = {Multi-spectral imagery is becoming popular for a wide range of application fields from agriculture to healthcare, mainly stemming from advances in consumer sensor and display technologies. Modern augmented reality (AR) head-mounted displays already combine a multitude of sensors and are well-suited for integration with additional sensors, such as cameras capturing information from different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this paper, we describe a novel multi-spectral vision prototype based on the Microsoft HoloLens 1, which we extended with two thermal infrared (IR) cameras and two ultraviolet (UV) cameras. We performed an exploratory experiment, in which participants wore the prototype for an extended period of time and assessed its potential to augment our daily activities. Our report covers a discussion of qualitative insights on personal and societal uses of such novel multi-spectral vision systems, including their applicability for use during the COVID-19 pandemic}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {forthcoming}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Multi-spectral imagery is becoming popular for a wide range of application fields from agriculture to healthcare, mainly stemming from advances in consumer sensor and display technologies. Modern augmented reality (AR) head-mounted displays already combine a multitude of sensors and are well-suited for integration with additional sensors, such as cameras capturing information from different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this paper, we describe a novel multi-spectral vision prototype based on the Microsoft HoloLens 1, which we extended with two thermal infrared (IR) cameras and two ultraviolet (UV) cameras. We performed an exploratory experiment, in which participants wore the prototype for an extended period of time and assessed its potential to augment our daily activities. Our report covers a discussion of qualitative insights on personal and societal uses of such novel multi-spectral vision systems, including their applicability for use during the COVID-19 pandemic |
 | Austin Erickson; Kangsoo Kim; Alexis Lambert; Gerd Bruder; Michael P. Browne; Greg Welch An Extended Analysis on the Benefits of Dark Mode User Interfaces in Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Displays Journal Article In: ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 18 (3), pp. 22, 2021. @article{Erickson2021, title = {An Extended Analysis on the Benefits of Dark Mode User Interfaces in Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Displays}, author = {Austin Erickson and Kangsoo Kim and Alexis Lambert and Gerd Bruder and Michael P. Browne and Greg Welch}, editor = {Victoria Interrante and Martin Giese}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ACM_TAP2020_DarkMode1_5.pdf}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3456874}, year = {2021}, date = {2021-05-20}, journal = {ACM Transactions on Applied Perception}, volume = {18}, number = {3}, pages = {22}, abstract = {Light-on-dark color schemes, so-called “Dark Mode,” are becoming more and more popular over a wide range of display technologies and application fields. Many people who have to look at computer screens for hours at a time, such as computer programmers and computer graphics artists, indicate a preference for switching colors on a computer screen from dark text on a light background to light text on a dark background due to perceived advantages related to visual comfort and acuity, specifically when working in low-light environments. In this paper, we investigate the effects of dark mode color schemes in the field of optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMDs), where the characteristic “additive” light model implies that bright graphics are visible but dark graphics are transparent. We describe two human-subject studies in which we evaluated a normal and inverted color mode in front of different physical backgrounds and different lighting conditions. Our results indicate that dark mode graphics displayed on the HoloLens have significant benefits for visual acuity, and usability, while user preferences depend largely on the lighting in the physical environment. We discuss the implications of these effects on user interfaces and applications.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Light-on-dark color schemes, so-called “Dark Mode,” are becoming more and more popular over a wide range of display technologies and application fields. Many people who have to look at computer screens for hours at a time, such as computer programmers and computer graphics artists, indicate a preference for switching colors on a computer screen from dark text on a light background to light text on a dark background due to perceived advantages related to visual comfort and acuity, specifically when working in low-light environments. In this paper, we investigate the effects of dark mode color schemes in the field of optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMDs), where the characteristic “additive” light model implies that bright graphics are visible but dark graphics are transparent. We describe two human-subject studies in which we evaluated a normal and inverted color mode in front of different physical backgrounds and different lighting conditions. Our results indicate that dark mode graphics displayed on the HoloLens have significant benefits for visual acuity, and usability, while user preferences depend largely on the lighting in the physical environment. We discuss the implications of these effects on user interfaces and applications. |
 | Zubin Choudhary; Matt Gottsacker; Kangsoo Kim; Ryan Schubert; Jeanine Stefanucci; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch Revisiting Distance Perception with Scaled Embodied Cues in Social Virtual Reality Inproceedings In: IEEE Virtual Reality (VR), 2021, 2021. @inproceedings{Choudhary2021, title = {Revisiting Distance Perception with Scaled Embodied Cues in Social Virtual Reality}, author = {Zubin Choudhary and Matt Gottsacker and Kangsoo Kim and Ryan Schubert and Jeanine Stefanucci and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/C2593-Revisiting-Distance-Perception-with-Scaled-Embodied-Cues-in-Social-Virtual-Reality-7.pdf}, year = {2021}, date = {2021-04-01}, publisher = {IEEE Virtual Reality (VR), 2021}, abstract = {Previous research on distance estimation in virtual reality (VR) has well established that even for geometrically accurate virtual objects and environments users tend to systematically misestimate distances. This has implications for Social VR, where it introduces variables in personal space and proxemics behavior that change social behaviors compared to the real world. One yet unexplored factor is related to the trend that avatars’ embodied cues in Social VR are often scaled, e.g., by making one’s head bigger or one’s voice louder, to make social cues more pronounced over longer distances. In this paper we investigate how the perception of avatar distance is changed based on two means for scaling embodied social cues: visual head scale and verbal volume scale. We conducted a human subject study employing a mixed factorial design with two Social VR avatar representations (full-body, head-only) as a between factor as well as three visual head scales and three verbal volume scales (up-scaled, accurate, down-scaled) as within factors. For three distances from social to far-public space, we found that visual head scale had a significant effect on distance judgments and should be tuned for Social VR, while conflicting verbal volume scales did not, indicating that voices can be scaled in Social VR without immediate repercussions on spatial estimates. We discuss the interactions between the factors and implications for Social VR. }, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Previous research on distance estimation in virtual reality (VR) has well established that even for geometrically accurate virtual objects and environments users tend to systematically misestimate distances. This has implications for Social VR, where it introduces variables in personal space and proxemics behavior that change social behaviors compared to the real world. One yet unexplored factor is related to the trend that avatars’ embodied cues in Social VR are often scaled, e.g., by making one’s head bigger or one’s voice louder, to make social cues more pronounced over longer distances. In this paper we investigate how the perception of avatar distance is changed based on two means for scaling embodied social cues: visual head scale and verbal volume scale. We conducted a human subject study employing a mixed factorial design with two Social VR avatar representations (full-body, head-only) as a between factor as well as three visual head scales and three verbal volume scales (up-scaled, accurate, down-scaled) as within factors. For three distances from social to far-public space, we found that visual head scale had a significant effect on distance judgments and should be tuned for Social VR, while conflicting verbal volume scales did not, indicating that voices can be scaled in Social VR without immediate repercussions on spatial estimates. We discuss the interactions between the factors and implications for Social VR. |
2020 |
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![[Demo] Towards Interactive Virtual Dogs as a Pervasive Social Companion in Augmented Reality](https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/demoFig-e1607360623259.png) | Nahal Norouzi; Kangsoo Kim; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch [Demo] Towards Interactive Virtual Dogs as a Pervasive Social Companion in Augmented Reality Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the combined International Conference on Artificial Reality & Telexistence and Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments (ICAT-EGVE)., pp. 29-30, 2020, (Best Demo Audience Choice Award). @inproceedings{Norouzi2020d, title = {[Demo] Towards Interactive Virtual Dogs as a Pervasive Social Companion in Augmented Reality}, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Kangsoo Kim and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch }, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/029-030.pdf}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.2312/egve.20201283}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-12-04}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the combined International Conference on Artificial Reality & Telexistence and Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments (ICAT-EGVE).}, pages = {29-30}, abstract = {Pets and animal-assisted intervention sessions have shown to be beneficial for humans' mental, social, and physical health. However, for specific populations, factors such as hygiene restrictions, allergies, and care and resource limitations reduce interaction opportunities. In parallel, understanding the capabilities of animals' technological representations, such as robotic and digital forms, have received considerable attention and has fueled the utilization of many of these technological representations. Additionally, recent advances in augmented reality technology have allowed for the realization of virtual animals with flexible appearances and behaviors to exist in the real world. In this demo, we present a companion virtual dog in augmented reality that aims to facilitate a range of interactions with populations, such as children and older adults. We discuss the potential benefits and limitations of such a companion and propose future use cases and research directions.}, note = {Best Demo Audience Choice Award}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Pets and animal-assisted intervention sessions have shown to be beneficial for humans' mental, social, and physical health. However, for specific populations, factors such as hygiene restrictions, allergies, and care and resource limitations reduce interaction opportunities. In parallel, understanding the capabilities of animals' technological representations, such as robotic and digital forms, have received considerable attention and has fueled the utilization of many of these technological representations. Additionally, recent advances in augmented reality technology have allowed for the realization of virtual animals with flexible appearances and behaviors to exist in the real world. In this demo, we present a companion virtual dog in augmented reality that aims to facilitate a range of interactions with populations, such as children and older adults. We discuss the potential benefits and limitations of such a companion and propose future use cases and research directions. |
 | Nahal Norouzi; Kangsoo Kim; Gerd Bruder; Austin Erickson; Zubin Choudhary; Yifan Li; Greg Welch A Systematic Literature Review of Embodied Augmented Reality Agents in Head-Mounted Display Environments Inproceedings In: In Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence & Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments, pp. 11, 2020. @inproceedings{Norouzi2020c, title = {A Systematic Literature Review of Embodied Augmented Reality Agents in Head-Mounted Display Environments}, author = {Nahal Norouzi and Kangsoo Kim and Gerd Bruder and Austin Erickson and Zubin Choudhary and Yifan Li and Greg Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IVC_ICAT_EGVE2020.pdf}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-12-02}, booktitle = {In Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence & Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments}, pages = {11}, abstract = {Embodied agents, i.e., computer-controlled characters, have proven useful for various applications across a multitude of display setups and modalities. While most traditional work focused on embodied agents presented on a screen or projector, and a growing number of works are focusing on agents in virtual reality, a comparatively small number of publications looked at such agents in augmented reality (AR). Such AR agents, specifically when using see-through head-mounted displays (HMDs)as the display medium, show multiple critical differences to other forms of agents, including their appearances, behaviors, and physical-virtual interactivity. Due to the unique challenges in this specific field, and due to the comparatively limited attention by the research community so far, we believe that it is important to map the field to understand the current trends, challenges, and future research. In this paper, we present a systematic review of the research performed on interactive, embodied AR agents using HMDs. Starting with 1261 broadly related papers, we conducted an in-depth review of 50 directly related papers from2000 to 2020, focusing on papers that reported on user studies aiming to improve our understanding of interactive agents in AR HMD environments or their utilization in specific applications. We identified common research and application areas of AR agents through a structured iterative process, present research trends, and gaps, and share insights on future directions.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Embodied agents, i.e., computer-controlled characters, have proven useful for various applications across a multitude of display setups and modalities. While most traditional work focused on embodied agents presented on a screen or projector, and a growing number of works are focusing on agents in virtual reality, a comparatively small number of publications looked at such agents in augmented reality (AR). Such AR agents, specifically when using see-through head-mounted displays (HMDs)as the display medium, show multiple critical differences to other forms of agents, including their appearances, behaviors, and physical-virtual interactivity. Due to the unique challenges in this specific field, and due to the comparatively limited attention by the research community so far, we believe that it is important to map the field to understand the current trends, challenges, and future research. In this paper, we present a systematic review of the research performed on interactive, embodied AR agents using HMDs. Starting with 1261 broadly related papers, we conducted an in-depth review of 50 directly related papers from2000 to 2020, focusing on papers that reported on user studies aiming to improve our understanding of interactive agents in AR HMD environments or their utilization in specific applications. We identified common research and application areas of AR agents through a structured iterative process, present research trends, and gaps, and share insights on future directions. |
![[Poster] An Automated Virtual Receptionist for Recognizing Visitors and Assuring Mask Wearing](https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Zehtabian2020aav-300x272.jpg) | Sharare Zehtabian; Siavash Khodadadeh; Kangsoo Kim; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch; Ladislau Bölöni; Damla Turgut [Poster] An Automated Virtual Receptionist for Recognizing Visitors and Assuring Mask Wearing Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence & Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments, pp. 9-10, 2020. BibTeX | Links: @inproceedings{Zehtabian2020aav, title = {[Poster] An Automated Virtual Receptionist for Recognizing Visitors and Assuring Mask Wearing}, author = {Sharare Zehtabian and Siavash Khodadadeh and Kangsoo Kim and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch and Ladislau Bölöni and Damla Turgut}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/VirtualReceptionist_Poster_ICAT_EGVE2020.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6bXNPn3lWU&feature=emb_logo}, doi = {10.2312/egve.20201273}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-12-02}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence & Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments}, pages = {9-10}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } |
![[Demo] Dark/Light Mode Adaptation for Graphical User Interfaces on Near-Eye Displays](https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/OST-mockup-acuity-e1607360140366-150x150.png) | Austin Erickson; Kangsoo Kim; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch [Demo] Dark/Light Mode Adaptation for Graphical User Interfaces on Near-Eye Displays Inproceedings In: Kulik, Alexander ; Sra, Misha ; Kim, Kangsoo ; Seo, Byung-Kuk (Ed.): Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence & Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments, pp. 23-24, The Eurographics Association The Eurographics Association, 2020, ISBN: 978-3-03868-112-0. @inproceedings{Erickson2020f, title = {[Demo] Dark/Light Mode Adaptation for Graphical User Interfaces on Near-Eye Displays}, author = {Austin Erickson and Kangsoo Kim and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, editor = {Kulik, Alexander and Sra, Misha and Kim, Kangsoo and Seo, Byung-Kuk}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DarkmodeDEMO_ICAT_EGVE_2020-2.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJQTaYyofCw&t=61s }, doi = {https://doi.org/10.2312/egve.20201280}, isbn = {978-3-03868-112-0}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-12-02}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence & Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments}, pages = {23-24}, publisher = {The Eurographics Association}, organization = {The Eurographics Association}, abstract = {In the fields of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), many applications involve user interfaces (UIs) to display various types of information to users. Such UIs are an important component that influences user experience and human factors in AR/VR because the users are directly facing and interacting with them to absorb the visualized information and manipulate the content. While consumer’s interests in different forms of near-eye displays, such as AR/VR head-mounted displays (HMDs), are increasing, research on the design standard for AR/VR UIs and human factors becomes more and more interesting and timely important. Although UI configurations, such as dark mode and light mode, have increased in popularity on other display types over the last several years, they have yet to make their way into AR/VR devices as built in features. This demo showcases several use cases of dark mode and light mode UIs on AR/VR HMDs, and provides general guidelines for when they should be used to provide perceptual benefits to the user}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } In the fields of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), many applications involve user interfaces (UIs) to display various types of information to users. Such UIs are an important component that influences user experience and human factors in AR/VR because the users are directly facing and interacting with them to absorb the visualized information and manipulate the content. While consumer’s interests in different forms of near-eye displays, such as AR/VR head-mounted displays (HMDs), are increasing, research on the design standard for AR/VR UIs and human factors becomes more and more interesting and timely important. Although UI configurations, such as dark mode and light mode, have increased in popularity on other display types over the last several years, they have yet to make their way into AR/VR devices as built in features. This demo showcases several use cases of dark mode and light mode UIs on AR/VR HMDs, and provides general guidelines for when they should be used to provide perceptual benefits to the user |
 | Austin Erickson; Kangsoo Kim; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch A Review of Visual Perception Research in Optical See-Through Augmented Reality Inproceedings In: In Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence & Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments, pp. 8, The Eurographics Association The Eurographics Association, 2020, ISBN: 978-3-03868-111-3. @inproceedings{Erickson2020e, title = {A Review of Visual Perception Research in Optical See-Through Augmented Reality}, author = {Austin Erickson and Kangsoo Kim and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/DarkModeSurvey_ICAT_EGVE_2020.pdf}, doi = {10.2312/egve.20201256}, isbn = {978-3-03868-111-3}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-12-02}, booktitle = {In Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence & Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments}, pages = {8}, publisher = {The Eurographics Association}, organization = {The Eurographics Association}, abstract = {In the field of augmented reality (AR), many applications involve user interfaces (UIs) that overlay visual information over the user's view of their physical environment, e.g., as text, images, or three-dimensional scene elements. In this scope, optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMDs) are particularly interesting as they typically use an additive light model, which denotes that the perception of the displayed virtual imagery is a composite of the lighting conditions of one's environment, the coloration of the objects that make up the virtual imagery, and the coloration of physical objects that lay behind them. While a large body of literature focused on investigating the visual perception of UI elements in immersive and flat panel displays, comparatively less effort has been spent on OST-HMDs. Due to the unique visual effects with OST-HMDs, we believe that it is important to review the field to understand the perceptual challenges, research trends, and future directions. In this paper, we present a systematic survey of literature based on the IEEE and ACM digital libraries, which explores users' perception of displaying text-based information on an OST-HMD, and aim to provide relevant design suggestions based on the meta-analysis results. We carefully review 14 key papers relevant to the visual perception research in OST-HMDs with UI elements, and present the current state of the research field, associated trends, noticeable research gaps in the literature, and recommendations for potential future research in this domain. }, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } In the field of augmented reality (AR), many applications involve user interfaces (UIs) that overlay visual information over the user's view of their physical environment, e.g., as text, images, or three-dimensional scene elements. In this scope, optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMDs) are particularly interesting as they typically use an additive light model, which denotes that the perception of the displayed virtual imagery is a composite of the lighting conditions of one's environment, the coloration of the objects that make up the virtual imagery, and the coloration of physical objects that lay behind them. While a large body of literature focused on investigating the visual perception of UI elements in immersive and flat panel displays, comparatively less effort has been spent on OST-HMDs. Due to the unique visual effects with OST-HMDs, we believe that it is important to review the field to understand the perceptual challenges, research trends, and future directions. In this paper, we present a systematic survey of literature based on the IEEE and ACM digital libraries, which explores users' perception of displaying text-based information on an OST-HMD, and aim to provide relevant design suggestions based on the meta-analysis results. We carefully review 14 key papers relevant to the visual perception research in OST-HMDs with UI elements, and present the current state of the research field, associated trends, noticeable research gaps in the literature, and recommendations for potential future research in this domain. |
 | Celso M. de Melo; Kangsoo Kim; Nahal Norouzi; Gerd Bruder; Gregory Welch Reducing Cognitive Load and Improving Warfighter Problem Solving with Intelligent Virtual Assistants Journal Article In: Frontiers in Psychology, 11 (554706), pp. 1-12, 2020. BibTeX | Links: @article{DeMelo2020rcl, title = {Reducing Cognitive Load and Improving Warfighter Problem Solving with Intelligent Virtual Assistants}, author = {Celso M. de Melo and Kangsoo Kim and Nahal Norouzi and Gerd Bruder and Gregory Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Melo2020aa-2.pdf}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2020.554706}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-11-17}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {11}, number = {554706}, pages = {1-12}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } |
 | Austin Erickson; Kangsoo Kim; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Exploring the Limitations of Environment Lighting on Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Displays Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction , pp. 1-8, Association for Computing Machinery ACM, New York, NY, USA, 2020, ISBN: 9781450379434. @inproceedings{Erickson2020d, title = {Exploring the Limitations of Environment Lighting on Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Displays}, author = {Austin Erickson and Kangsoo Kim and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/sui20a-sub1047-cam-i26-1.pdf https://youtu.be/3jJ-j35oO1I}, doi = {10.1145/3385959.3418445}, isbn = {9781450379434}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-10-31}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction }, pages = {1-8}, publisher = {ACM}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, organization = {Association for Computing Machinery}, series = {SUI '20}, abstract = {Due to the additive light model employed by most optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMDs), they provide the best augmented reality (AR) views in dark environments, where the added AR light does not have to compete against existing real-world lighting. AR imagery displayed on such devices loses a significant amount of contrast in well-lit environments such as outdoors in direct sunlight. To compensate for this, OST-HMDs often use a tinted visor to reduce the amount of environment light that reaches the user’s eyes, which in turn results in a loss of contrast in the user’s physical environment. While these effects are well known and grounded in existing literature, formal measurements of the illuminance and contrast of modern OST-HMDs are currently missing. In this paper, we provide illuminance measurements for both the Microsoft HoloLens 1 and its successor the HoloLens 2 under varying environment lighting conditions ranging from 0 to 20,000 lux. We evaluate how environment lighting impacts the user by calculating contrast ratios between rendered black (transparent) and white imagery displayed under these conditions, and evaluate how the intensity of environment lighting is impacted by donning and using the HMD. Our results indicate the further need for refinement in the design of future OST-HMDs to optimize contrast in environments with illuminance values greater than or equal to those found in indoor working environments.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Due to the additive light model employed by most optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMDs), they provide the best augmented reality (AR) views in dark environments, where the added AR light does not have to compete against existing real-world lighting. AR imagery displayed on such devices loses a significant amount of contrast in well-lit environments such as outdoors in direct sunlight. To compensate for this, OST-HMDs often use a tinted visor to reduce the amount of environment light that reaches the user’s eyes, which in turn results in a loss of contrast in the user’s physical environment. While these effects are well known and grounded in existing literature, formal measurements of the illuminance and contrast of modern OST-HMDs are currently missing. In this paper, we provide illuminance measurements for both the Microsoft HoloLens 1 and its successor the HoloLens 2 under varying environment lighting conditions ranging from 0 to 20,000 lux. We evaluate how environment lighting impacts the user by calculating contrast ratios between rendered black (transparent) and white imagery displayed under these conditions, and evaluate how the intensity of environment lighting is impacted by donning and using the HMD. Our results indicate the further need for refinement in the design of future OST-HMDs to optimize contrast in environments with illuminance values greater than or equal to those found in indoor working environments. |
 | Gregory F Welch; Ryan Schubert; Gerd Bruder; Derrick P Stockdreher; Adam Casebolt Augmented Reality Promises Mentally and Physically Stressful Training in Real Places Journal Article In: IACLEA Campus Law Enforcement Journal, 50 (5), pp. 47–50, 2020. BibTeX | Links: @article{Welch2020aa, title = {Augmented Reality Promises Mentally and Physically Stressful Training in Real Places}, author = {Gregory F Welch and Ryan Schubert and Gerd Bruder and Derrick P Stockdreher and Adam Casebolt}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Welch2020aa.pdf}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-10-05}, journal = {IACLEA Campus Law Enforcement Journal}, volume = {50}, number = {5}, pages = {47--50}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } |
 | Alexis Lambert; Nahal Norouzi; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch A Systematic Review of Ten Years of Research on Human Interaction with Social Robots Journal Article In: International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, pp. 10, 2020. @article{Lambert2020, title = {A Systematic Review of Ten Years of Research on Human Interaction with Social Robots}, author = {Alexis Lambert and Nahal Norouzi and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch }, editor = {Constantine Stephanidis}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/8_25_2020_A-Systemat.pdf}, doi = {10.1080/10447318.2020.1801172}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-08-25}, journal = {International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction}, pages = {10}, abstract = {While research and development related to robotics has been going on for decades, the past decade in particular has seen a marked increase in related efforts, in part due to technological advances, increased technological accessibility and reliability, and increased commercial availability. What have come to be known as social robots are now being used to explore novel forms of human-robot interaction, to understand social norms, and to test expectations and human responses. To capture the contributions of these research efforts, identify the current trends, and future directions, we systematically review ten years of research in the field of social robotics between 2008 and 2018, which includes 86 publications with 70 user studies. We classify the past work based on the research topics and application areas, and provide information about the publications, their user studies, and the capabilities of the social robots utilized. We also discuss selected papers in detail and outline overall trends. Based on these findings, we identify some areas of potential future research.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } While research and development related to robotics has been going on for decades, the past decade in particular has seen a marked increase in related efforts, in part due to technological advances, increased technological accessibility and reliability, and increased commercial availability. What have come to be known as social robots are now being used to explore novel forms of human-robot interaction, to understand social norms, and to test expectations and human responses. To capture the contributions of these research efforts, identify the current trends, and future directions, we systematically review ten years of research in the field of social robotics between 2008 and 2018, which includes 86 publications with 70 user studies. We classify the past work based on the research topics and application areas, and provide information about the publications, their user studies, and the capabilities of the social robots utilized. We also discuss selected papers in detail and outline overall trends. Based on these findings, we identify some areas of potential future research. |
 | Austin Erickson; Nahal Norouzi; Kangsoo Kim; Ryan Schubert; Jonathan Jules; Joseph J. LaViola Jr.; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Sharing gaze rays for visual target identification tasks in collaborative augmented reality Journal Article In: Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces: Special Issue on Multimodal Interfaces and Communication Cues for Remote Collaboration, 14 (4), pp. 353-371, 2020, ISSN: 1783-8738. @article{EricksonNorouzi2020, title = {Sharing gaze rays for visual target identification tasks in collaborative augmented reality}, author = {Austin Erickson and Nahal Norouzi and Kangsoo Kim and Ryan Schubert and Jonathan Jules and Joseph J. LaViola Jr. and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Erickson2020_Article_SharingGazeRaysForVisualTarget.pdf}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-020-00330-2}, issn = {1783-8738}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-07-09}, journal = {Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces: Special Issue on Multimodal Interfaces and Communication Cues for Remote Collaboration}, volume = {14}, number = {4}, pages = {353-371}, abstract = {Augmented reality (AR) technologies provide a shared platform for users to collaborate in a physical context involving both real and virtual content. To enhance the quality of interaction between AR users, researchers have proposed augmenting users’ interpersonal space with embodied cues such as their gaze direction. While beneficial in achieving improved interpersonal spatial communication, such shared gaze environments suffer from multiple types of errors related to eye tracking and networking, that can reduce objective performance and subjective experience. In this paper, we present a human-subjects study to understand the impact of accuracy, precision, latency, and dropout based errors on users’ performance when using shared gaze cues to identify a target among a crowd of people. We simulated varying amounts of errors and the target distances and measured participants’ objective performance through their response time and error rate, and their subjective experience and cognitive load through questionnaires. We found significant differences suggesting that the simulated error levels had stronger effects on participants’ performance than target distance with accuracy and latency having a high impact on participants’ error rate. We also observed that participants assessed their own performance as lower than it objectively was. We discuss implications for practical shared gaze applications and we present a multi-user prototype system.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Augmented reality (AR) technologies provide a shared platform for users to collaborate in a physical context involving both real and virtual content. To enhance the quality of interaction between AR users, researchers have proposed augmenting users’ interpersonal space with embodied cues such as their gaze direction. While beneficial in achieving improved interpersonal spatial communication, such shared gaze environments suffer from multiple types of errors related to eye tracking and networking, that can reduce objective performance and subjective experience. In this paper, we present a human-subjects study to understand the impact of accuracy, precision, latency, and dropout based errors on users’ performance when using shared gaze cues to identify a target among a crowd of people. We simulated varying amounts of errors and the target distances and measured participants’ objective performance through their response time and error rate, and their subjective experience and cognitive load through questionnaires. We found significant differences suggesting that the simulated error levels had stronger effects on participants’ performance than target distance with accuracy and latency having a high impact on participants’ error rate. We also observed that participants assessed their own performance as lower than it objectively was. We discuss implications for practical shared gaze applications and we present a multi-user prototype system. |
 | Zubin Choudhary; Kangsoo Kim; Ryan Schubert; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Virtual Big Heads: Analysis of Human Perception and Comfort of Head Scales in Social Virtual Reality Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR), pp. 425-433, Atlanta, Georgia, 2020. BibTeX | Links: @inproceedings{Choudhary2020vbh, title = {Virtual Big Heads: Analysis of Human Perception and Comfort of Head Scales in Social Virtual Reality}, author = {Zubin Choudhary and Kangsoo Kim and Ryan Schubert and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IEEEVR2020_BigHead.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14289nufYf0, YouTube Presentation}, doi = {10.1109/VR46266.2020.00-41}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-03-23}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR)}, pages = {425-433}, address = {Atlanta, Georgia}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } |
 | Kangsoo Kim; Celso M. de Melo; Nahal Norouzi; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Reducing Task Load with an Embodied Intelligent Virtual Assistant for Improved Performance in Collaborative Decision Making Inproceedings In: Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR), pp. 529-538, Atlanta, Georgia, 2020. BibTeX | Links: @inproceedings{Kim2020rtl, title = {Reducing Task Load with an Embodied Intelligent Virtual Assistant for Improved Performance in Collaborative Decision Making}, author = {Kangsoo Kim and Celso M. de Melo and Nahal Norouzi and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IEEEVR2020_ARDesertSurvival.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_iZ_asjp3I&t=6s, YouTube Presentation}, doi = {10.1109/VR46266.2020.00-30}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-03-23}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR)}, pages = {529-538}, address = {Atlanta, Georgia}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } |
 | Austin Erickson; Gerd Bruder; Pamela J. Wisniewski; Greg Welch Examining Whether Secondary Effects of Temperature-Associated Virtual Stimuli Influence Subjective Perception of Duration Inproceedings In: Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR), pp. 493-499, Atlanta, Georgia, 2020. @inproceedings{Erickson2020b, title = {Examining Whether Secondary Effects of Temperature-Associated Virtual Stimuli Influence Subjective Perception of Duration}, author = {Austin Erickson and Gerd Bruder and Pamela J. Wisniewski and Greg Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TimePerception_VR2020.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG2M-cbjS3s&t=1s, YouTube Presentation}, doi = {10.1109/VR46266.2020.00-34}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-03-23}, booktitle = {Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR)}, pages = {493-499}, address = {Atlanta, Georgia}, abstract = {Past work in augmented reality has shown that temperature-associated AR stimuli can induce warming and cooling sensations in the user, and prior work in psychology suggests that a person's body temperature can influence that person's sense of subjective perception of duration. In this paper, we present a user study to evaluate the relationship between temperature-associated virtual stimuli presented on an AR-HMD and the user's sense of subjective perception of duration and temperature. In particular, we investigate two independent variables: the apparent temperature of the virtual stimuli presented to the participant, which could be hot or cold, and the location of the stimuli, which could be in direct contact with the user, in indirect contact with the user, or both in direct and indirect contact simultaneously. We investigate how these variables affect the users' perception of duration and perception of body and environment temperature by having participants make prospective time estimations while observing the virtual stimulus and answering subjective questions regarding their body and environment temperatures. Our work confirms that temperature-associated virtual stimuli are capable of having significant effects on the users' perception of temperature, and highlights a possible limitation in the current augmented reality technology in that no secondary effects on the users' perception of duration were observed.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Past work in augmented reality has shown that temperature-associated AR stimuli can induce warming and cooling sensations in the user, and prior work in psychology suggests that a person's body temperature can influence that person's sense of subjective perception of duration. In this paper, we present a user study to evaluate the relationship between temperature-associated virtual stimuli presented on an AR-HMD and the user's sense of subjective perception of duration and temperature. In particular, we investigate two independent variables: the apparent temperature of the virtual stimuli presented to the participant, which could be hot or cold, and the location of the stimuli, which could be in direct contact with the user, in indirect contact with the user, or both in direct and indirect contact simultaneously. We investigate how these variables affect the users' perception of duration and perception of body and environment temperature by having participants make prospective time estimations while observing the virtual stimulus and answering subjective questions regarding their body and environment temperatures. Our work confirms that temperature-associated virtual stimuli are capable of having significant effects on the users' perception of temperature, and highlights a possible limitation in the current augmented reality technology in that no secondary effects on the users' perception of duration were observed. |
 | Austin Erickson; Kangsoo Kim; Gerd Bruder; Greg Welch Effects of Dark Mode Graphics on Visual Acuity and Fatigue with Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays Inproceedings In: Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR), pp. 434-442, Atlanta, Georgia, 2020. @inproceedings{Erickson2020, title = {Effects of Dark Mode Graphics on Visual Acuity and Fatigue with Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays}, author = {Austin Erickson and Kangsoo Kim and Gerd Bruder and Greg Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/VR2020_DarkMode2_0.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wePUk0xTLA0&t=5s, YouTube Presentation}, doi = {10.1109/VR46266.2020.00-40}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-03-23}, booktitle = {Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR)}, pages = {434-442}, address = {Atlanta, Georgia}, abstract = {Current virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) are characterized by a low angular resolution that makes it difficult to make out details, leading to reduced legibility of text and increased visual fatigue. Light-on-dark graphics modes, so-called ``dark mode'' graphics, are becoming more and more popular over a wide range of display technologies, and have been correlated with increased visual comfort and acuity, specifically when working in low-light environments, which suggests that they might provide significant advantages for VR HMDs. In this paper, we present a human-subject study investigating the correlations between the color mode and the ambient lighting with respect to visual acuity and fatigue on VR HMDs. We compare two color schemes, characterized by light letters on a dark background (dark mode), or dark letters on a light background (light mode), and show that the dark background in dark mode provides a significant advantage in terms of reduced visual fatigue and increased visual acuity in dim virtual environments on current HMDs. Based on our results, we discuss guidelines for user interfaces and applications.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {inproceedings} } Current virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) are characterized by a low angular resolution that makes it difficult to make out details, leading to reduced legibility of text and increased visual fatigue. Light-on-dark graphics modes, so-called ``dark mode'' graphics, are becoming more and more popular over a wide range of display technologies, and have been correlated with increased visual comfort and acuity, specifically when working in low-light environments, which suggests that they might provide significant advantages for VR HMDs. In this paper, we present a human-subject study investigating the correlations between the color mode and the ambient lighting with respect to visual acuity and fatigue on VR HMDs. We compare two color schemes, characterized by light letters on a dark background (dark mode), or dark letters on a light background (light mode), and show that the dark background in dark mode provides a significant advantage in terms of reduced visual fatigue and increased visual acuity in dim virtual environments on current HMDs. Based on our results, we discuss guidelines for user interfaces and applications. |
 | Austin Erickson; Nahal Norouzi; Kangsoo Kim; Joseph J. LaViola Jr.; Gerd Bruder; Gregory F. Welch Effects of Depth Information on Visual Target Identification Task Performance in Shared Gaze Environments Journal Article In: IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 26 (5), pp. 1934-1944, 2020, ISSN: 1077-2626, (Presented at IEEE VR 2020). @article{Erickson2020c, title = {Effects of Depth Information on Visual Target Identification Task Performance in Shared Gaze Environments}, author = {Austin Erickson and Nahal Norouzi and Kangsoo Kim and Joseph J. LaViola Jr. and Gerd Bruder and Gregory F. Welch}, url = {https://sreal.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/shared_gaze_2_FINAL.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQO_iosY62Y&t=6s, YouTube Presentation}, doi = {10.1109/TVCG.2020.2973054}, issn = {1077-2626}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-02-13}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics}, volume = {26}, number = {5}, pages = {1934-1944}, abstract = {Human gaze awareness is important for social and collaborative interactions. Recent technological advances in augmented reality (AR) displays and sensors provide us with the means to extend collaborative spaces with real-time dynamic AR indicators of one's gaze, for example via three-dimensional cursors or rays emanating from a partner's head. However, such gaze cues are only as useful as the quality of the underlying gaze estimation and the accuracy of the display mechanism. Depending on the type of the visualization, and the characteristics of the errors, AR gaze cues could either enhance or interfere with collaborations. In this paper, we present two human-subject studies in which we investigate the influence of angular and depth errors, target distance, and the type of gaze visualization on participants' performance and subjective evaluation during a collaborative task with a virtual human partner, where participants identified targets within a dynamically walking crowd. First, our results show that there is a significant difference in performance for the two gaze visualizations ray and cursor in conditions with simulated angular and depth errors: the ray visualization provided significantly faster response times and fewer errors compared to the cursor visualization. Second, our results show that under optimal conditions, among four different gaze visualization methods, a ray without depth information provides the worst performance and is rated lowest, while a combination of a ray and cursor with depth information is rated highest. We discuss the subjective and objective performance thresholds and provide guidelines for practitioners in this field.}, note = {Presented at IEEE VR 2020}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Human gaze awareness is important for social and collaborative interactions. Recent technological advances in augmented reality (AR) displays and sensors provide us with the means to extend collaborative spaces with real-time dynamic AR indicators of one's gaze, for example via three-dimensional cursors or rays emanating from a partner's head. However, such gaze cues are only as useful as the quality of the underlying gaze estimation and the accuracy of the display mechanism. Depending on the type of the visualization, and the characteristics of the errors, AR gaze cues could either enhance or interfere with collaborations. In this paper, we present two human-subject studies in which we investigate the influence of angular and depth errors, target distance, and the type of gaze visualization on participants' performance and subjective evaluation during a collaborative task with a virtual human partner, where participants identified targets within a dynamically walking crowd. First, our results show that there is a significant difference in performance for the two gaze visualizations ray and cursor in conditions with simulated angular and depth errors: the ray visualization provided significantly faster response times and fewer errors compared to the cursor visualization. Second, our results show that under optimal conditions, among four different gaze visualization methods, a ray without depth information provides the worst performance and is rated lowest, while a combination of a ray and cursor with depth information is rated highest. We discuss the subjective and objective performance thresholds and provide guidelines for practitioners in this field. |
