ESROP – Unobtrusive Visual/Walking Guidance in Mixed Reality

Mixed reality (MR) based visual guidance enables intuitive interaction between the user and the environment and has various applications (e.g., picking tasks, navigation, and surgical support). These applications require highlighting physical objects, and many existing techniques utilize obvious virtual elements such as outlines and arrows. While effective, they significantly increase visual clutter when conveying a large amount of information, thereby detracting from the actual scene. Therefore, we aim to control the “saliency” of the scene, the distinctiveness of certain elements in a visual scene that naturally attract human attention, using methods that are less perceivable to users, such as blur, without introducing additional virtual objects. We explore the potential for naturally guiding users’ walking behavior by manipulating “saliency” to direct their gaze. This project will contribute to the advancement of MR technologies by exploring subliminal visual guidance techniques that can enhance user experience and interaction in MR environments. The findings from this research can inform the development of more intuitive and user-friendly MR applications, which can have significant implications for various industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, and education.

Faculty Supervisor:

Arthur Chan

Student:

Partner:

Osaka University

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Toronto

Program: