Preview Teleport: An Occlusion-Free Point-and-Teleport Technique Enhanced with an Augmented Preview

The Point-and-Teleport locomotion in VR allows for instantaneous movement and helps minimize motion sickness. However, precise targeting can be difficult when the intended destination is obscured by an obstruction. This work presents Preview Teleport, an enhanced point-and-teleport technique that incorporates a preview window, enabling users to visualize the landing site behind obstructions in a seamless, single-step process. In a study of 28 participants, we investigated how window position, arc type, camera pose — defined as the three critical design aspects of the preview window — affect user performance. Additionally, we explored the impact of environment familiarity, simulated through a see-through effect. Our findings suggest Preview Teleport boosts efficiency, enhances spatial awareness and reduces fatigue, though it slightly compromises accuracy relative to methods without previews. This drop in accuracy is due to Preview Teleport's use of a preview window for directly targeting distant, obscured areas. In contrast, no-preview methods typically involve users first teleporting to a nearby visible location, then making a final adjustment to the obscured destination, allowing for more precise targeting. Within preview teleport designs, the window attachment to the controller, the camera pose at user-height, and the use of the standard parabolic-arc pointer are recommended. Notably, the rotated-align arc pointer demonstrates superior accuracy in targeting within familiar environments.