Bees, Birds and Butterflies: Investigating the Influence of Distractors on Visual Attention Guidance Techniques

Abstract

Visual attention guidance methods direct the viewer's gaze in immersive environments by visually highlighting elements of interest. The highlighting can be done, for instance, by adding a colored circle around elements, adding animated swarms (HiveFive), or removing objects from one eye in a stereoscopic display (Deadeye). We contribute a controlled user experiment (N=30) comparing these three techniques under the influence of visual distractors, such as bees flying by. Our results show that Circle and HiveFive performed best in terms of task performance and qualitative feedback, and were largely robust against different levels of distractions. Furthermore, we discovered a high mental demand for Deadeye.