Minimizing Errors in Eyes-Free Target Acquisition in Virtual Reality through Auditory Feedback

This study aims to support eyes-free target acquisition in virtual reality by enhancing the user’s three-dimensional spatial awareness through sonification mapping pan, frequency, and amplitude to the x, y, and z axes, respectively. Our method provides two types of changing sounds. When multiple targets are sparsely arranged, the sound changes based on the distance between the user’s hand and the targets. When multiple targets are densely arranged, the sound changes based on the distance between the user’s hand and the central coordinate of the target group. Our two user studies, in which the targets were arranged sparsely and densely, respectively, showed that changing the sound exponentially and discretely minimized errors in eyes-free target acquisition.