Overview

In the last few years we have seen a rise in Mixed Reality (MR) use. As MR aims to be more prevalent in homes, schools, and workplaces, user comfort, health, and safety become increasingly important factors. Users should have confidence engaging with MR experiences, and feel comfortable and safe doing so for long periods of time. Comfort concerns can lead users to avoid or prematurely decline to use MR, even when the concerns can be mitigated. For example, in MR, some degree of visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) is reported by 30-40% of users, and these effects can persist for several hours after the experience. Past work divides health and safety concerns into physical, physiological, and psychological factors. These factors should be considered across the population, including children, elderly, or people with disabilities or for specific professionals such as industrial workers or medical professionals.

Furthermore, MR experiences allow users to interact with virtual and physical elements simultaneously which makes for a compelling experience. This means virtual content overlapping physical entities or physical elements interacting with virtual elements. Such experiences can afford various interactions for the users, however the user may need to calibrate to more than one frame of reference in such situations. For example, when using their real hands to grab a virtual object that is overlaid on top of the real world (RW), the user has to perceive the distance of the virtual object in relation to the RW while also referring back to their internal body schema. The three things may not be aligned causing more cognitive load for the user resulting in a poor experience. Additionally, there are depth and occlusion considerations to determine how successful certain actions will be. Depending on the relation between the virtual and the physical, the perceived affordance of actionable space may be inaccurate. In other words, a virtual object might appear reachable but it is beyond grasp.

There are relatively few venues for discussing challenges associated with comfort, safety, and affordances in MR, particularly across ages and/or special populations. This workshop will provide an opportunity for academic and industry researchers to share their insights via presentations and active discussions. Providing both structured and more free-flowing options to share ideas will foster conversations and shared knowledge.

Check out our keynote speakers. Full program available soon.

Organizers