Intuitive visualization method for locating off-screen objects inspired by motion perception in peripheral vision

Abstract

This paper describes an intuitive user interface (UI) that guides and attracts a user's attention toward off-screen objects using a vibrating icon. Mobile augmented reality is often used for finding various annotations that are overlaid on a real world image, such as operating instructions for maintenance and inspection. However, owing to the limited scope of the device screen, it is difficult for the user to convey annotations located off-screen. In this work, we focused on motion perception and cognition properties and attempted to show off-screen information intuitively using a simple approach. To achieve the intuitive off-screen information display, we used the motion of a small, circular, vibrating icon. Experiments with tasks involving locating an off-screen target and memorizing numbers were conducted to evaluate the usability of the proposed guidance UI. The results show that users using the proposed UI can locate a target more quickly, memorize numbers more precisely, and provided a high user satisfaction more easily, than with other conventional guidance UIs.