The Effectiveness of the Attention Guidance mechanisms in VR Museum

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a shift towards digital exhibitions on virtual platforms and the increasing use of VR devices. In most exhibitions, audiences are free to explore and understand the content. However, in themed museums, this freedom may result in missing important exhibits.In this study, we examine the effectiveness of various attention guidance mechanisms and user satisfaction in virtual museums. We designed an immersive VR experiment in a simulated virtual museum environment with four mechanisms: no guide, arrows, characters, and characters that acknowledge the user and environment. There were two guiding directions (left and right) and three museum spacial compositions (60-degree angle, 90-degree angle, and 180-degree angle).Through mixed-method analysis, we found that all three attention guidance mechanisms were effective in guiding users in the three museum spacial compositions. Among them, the virtual arrow had the longest visibility time, and the acknowledging character had the highest user satisfaction.In conclusion, attention guidance mechanisms in VR museums significantly improve user attention to the target. The acknowledging character and arrow have the best guidance efficacy, and spacial composition also has a significant impact on attention effectiveness.

Keywords: VR museum, Attention guidance mechanism, Spacial composition, Virtual reality

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1003378