Enhancing eyes-free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selection
In virtual reality (VR) environments, selecting and manipulating multiple out-of-view objects is often challenging because most current VR systems lack integrated haptics. To address this limitation, we propose a sonification method that guides users’ hands to target objects outside their field of v...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2025.1598776/full |
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| author | Yota Takahara Arinobu Niijima Chanho Park Takefumi Ogawa |
| author_facet | Yota Takahara Arinobu Niijima Chanho Park Takefumi Ogawa |
| author_sort | Yota Takahara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In virtual reality (VR) environments, selecting and manipulating multiple out-of-view objects is often challenging because most current VR systems lack integrated haptics. To address this limitation, we propose a sonification method that guides users’ hands to target objects outside their field of view by assigning distinct auditory parameters (pan, frequency, and amplitude) to the three spatial axes. These parameters are discretized into three exponential steps within a comfortable volume (less than 43 dB) and frequency range (150–700 Hz), determined via pilot studies to avoid listener fatigue. Our method dynamically shifts the sound source location depending on the density of the target objects: when objects are sparsely positioned, each object serves as its own sound source, whereas for dense clusters, a single sound source is placed at the cluster’s center to prevent overlapping sounds. We validated our technique through user studies involving two VR applications: a shooting game that requires rapid weapon selection and a 3D cube keyboard for text entry. Compared to a no-sound baseline, our sonification significantly improved positional accuracy in eyes-free selection tasks. In the shooting game, participants could more easily swap weapons without losing sight of on-screen action, while in the keyboard task, typing accuracy more than doubled during blind entry. These findings suggest that sonification can substantially enhance eyes-free interaction in VR without relying on haptic or visual cues, thereby offering a promising avenue for more efficient and comfortable VR experiences. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c0b4da7447f7400db2d3eb0b3c108733 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-4192 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
| spelling | doaj-art-c0b4da7447f7400db2d3eb0b3c1087332025-08-20T03:49:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Virtual Reality2673-41922025-07-01610.3389/frvir.2025.15987761598776Enhancing eyes-free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selectionYota Takahara0Arinobu Niijima1Chanho Park2Takefumi Ogawa3Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanNTT Human Informatics Laboratories, NTT Corporation, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, JapanGraduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanInformation Technology Center, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, JapanIn virtual reality (VR) environments, selecting and manipulating multiple out-of-view objects is often challenging because most current VR systems lack integrated haptics. To address this limitation, we propose a sonification method that guides users’ hands to target objects outside their field of view by assigning distinct auditory parameters (pan, frequency, and amplitude) to the three spatial axes. These parameters are discretized into three exponential steps within a comfortable volume (less than 43 dB) and frequency range (150–700 Hz), determined via pilot studies to avoid listener fatigue. Our method dynamically shifts the sound source location depending on the density of the target objects: when objects are sparsely positioned, each object serves as its own sound source, whereas for dense clusters, a single sound source is placed at the cluster’s center to prevent overlapping sounds. We validated our technique through user studies involving two VR applications: a shooting game that requires rapid weapon selection and a 3D cube keyboard for text entry. Compared to a no-sound baseline, our sonification significantly improved positional accuracy in eyes-free selection tasks. In the shooting game, participants could more easily swap weapons without losing sight of on-screen action, while in the keyboard task, typing accuracy more than doubled during blind entry. These findings suggest that sonification can substantially enhance eyes-free interaction in VR without relying on haptic or visual cues, thereby offering a promising avenue for more efficient and comfortable VR experiences.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2025.1598776/fullsonificationeyes-free interactionvirtual realitymultiple object selectionauditory feedback |
| spellingShingle | Yota Takahara Arinobu Niijima Chanho Park Takefumi Ogawa Enhancing eyes-free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selection Frontiers in Virtual Reality sonification eyes-free interaction virtual reality multiple object selection auditory feedback |
| title | Enhancing eyes-free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selection |
| title_full | Enhancing eyes-free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selection |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing eyes-free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing eyes-free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selection |
| title_short | Enhancing eyes-free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selection |
| title_sort | enhancing eyes free interaction in virtual reality using sonification for multiple object selection |
| topic | sonification eyes-free interaction virtual reality multiple object selection auditory feedback |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2025.1598776/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yotatakahara enhancingeyesfreeinteractioninvirtualrealityusingsonificationformultipleobjectselection AT arinobuniijima enhancingeyesfreeinteractioninvirtualrealityusingsonificationformultipleobjectselection AT chanhopark enhancingeyesfreeinteractioninvirtualrealityusingsonificationformultipleobjectselection AT takefumiogawa enhancingeyesfreeinteractioninvirtualrealityusingsonificationformultipleobjectselection |