No More Head-Turning: Exploring Passthrough Techniques for Addressing Rear Interruptions from the Front in VR

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Guo, Zixuan, Shi, Yuekai, Ye, Tiantian, Wan, Tingjie, Liang, Hai-Ning
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Guo, Zixuan
Shi, Yuekai
Ye, Tiantian
Wan, Tingjie
Liang, Hai-Ning
author_facet Guo, Zixuan
Shi, Yuekai
Ye, Tiantian
Wan, Tingjie
Liang, Hai-Ning
contents Virtual reality (VR) users often encounter interruptions, posing challenges to maintaining real-world awareness during immersive experiences. The Passthrough feature in VR headsets allows users to view their physical surroundings without removing the headset. However, when interruptions come from the rear, users need to turn their heads to see the real world, which can lead to negative experiences in VR. Study 1, conducted through semi-structured interviews involving 13 participants, found that users are less likely to use Passthrough for rear interruptions due to large head-turning movements, which cause inconvenience, increase the risk of motion sickness, and reduce the experience. Building on these findings, we introduced three Passthrough techniques in Study 2 for displaying the rear view in front of the user: Full Rear Passthrough + Pause (FRPP), Rear Passthrough Window (RPW), and Rear Passthrough AR (RPAR). Compared to the Baseline method that requires head-turning, all three systems reduced physical and temporal demands, alleviated disorientation caused by motion sickness, and provided a better user experience for managing rear interruptions. Among these, FRPP and RPAR were the most preferred. These findings provide valuable insights for future VR design, emphasizing the need for solutions that effectively manage rear interruptions while maintaining user comfort and experience.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_15936
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle No More Head-Turning: Exploring Passthrough Techniques for Addressing Rear Interruptions from the Front in VR
Guo, Zixuan
Shi, Yuekai
Ye, Tiantian
Wan, Tingjie
Liang, Hai-Ning
Human-Computer Interaction
Virtual reality (VR) users often encounter interruptions, posing challenges to maintaining real-world awareness during immersive experiences. The Passthrough feature in VR headsets allows users to view their physical surroundings without removing the headset. However, when interruptions come from the rear, users need to turn their heads to see the real world, which can lead to negative experiences in VR. Study 1, conducted through semi-structured interviews involving 13 participants, found that users are less likely to use Passthrough for rear interruptions due to large head-turning movements, which cause inconvenience, increase the risk of motion sickness, and reduce the experience. Building on these findings, we introduced three Passthrough techniques in Study 2 for displaying the rear view in front of the user: Full Rear Passthrough + Pause (FRPP), Rear Passthrough Window (RPW), and Rear Passthrough AR (RPAR). Compared to the Baseline method that requires head-turning, all three systems reduced physical and temporal demands, alleviated disorientation caused by motion sickness, and provided a better user experience for managing rear interruptions. Among these, FRPP and RPAR were the most preferred. These findings provide valuable insights for future VR design, emphasizing the need for solutions that effectively manage rear interruptions while maintaining user comfort and experience.
title No More Head-Turning: Exploring Passthrough Techniques for Addressing Rear Interruptions from the Front in VR
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.15936