I Can't See That! Considering the Readability of Small Objects in Virtual Environments

Though virtual reality has repeatedly seen usability improvements through higher fidelity headsets, interacting with small objects has remained an issue due to a reduction in visual acuity. Given the current uptake of virtual reality platforms and the range of real world applications that they may be used for, it is worth considering how such interactions can be accounted for. We propose three techniques for improving the usability of small objects in virtual environments: i) expanding them in place, ii) showing a zoomed-in twin above the original object, and iii) showing a large readout of the object's current state. We conducted a study comparing each technique's usability, induced presence, and effect on short-term knowledge retention in a VR training scenario that simulated the common geoscience exercise of measuring strike and dip. Participant feedback highlighted the need for this research, however simply scaling the area of interest may not be enough to improve the usability of information-bearing objects, while displaying this information in large text format can make tasks faster to complete at the cost of reducing the user's ability to transfer knowledge they've learned to the real world. We discuss these results and their implications for the design of future virtual reality experiences.