User Preference for SharpView-Enhanced Virtual Text During Non-Fixated Viewing

For optical see-through head-mounted displays, the mismatch between a display's focal length and the real world scene inadvertently prevents users from simultaneously focusing on the presented virtual content and the scene. It has been shown that it is possible to ameliorate the out-of-focus blur for images with a known focus distance, by applying an algorithm called Sharp View. However, it remains unclear if Sharp View also improves the readability and clarity of text rendered on the display. In this study, we investigate whether users reported increased text clarity when Sharp View was applied to a text label, and how the focal demand of the display, the focal distance to real world content, and gaze condition affect the result. Our results indicate that, in non-fixated viewing, there is a significant user preference for Sharp View-enhanced text strings.