Toward Intuitive Acquisition of Occluded VR Objects Through an Interactive Disocclusion Mini-map

Mykola Maslych, Yahya Hmaiti, Ryan Ghamandi, Paige Leber, Ravi Kiran Kattoju, Jacob Belga, Joseph J. LaViola

Abstract: Standard selection techniques such as ray casting fail when virtual objects are partially or fully occluded. In this paper, we present two novel approaches that combine cone-casting, world-in-miniature, and grasping metaphors to disocclude objects in the representation local to the user. Through a within-subject study where we compared 4 selection techniques across 3 levels of object occlusion, we found that our techniques outperformed an alternative one that also focuses on maintaining the spatial relationships between objects. We discuss application scenarios and future research directions for these types of selection techniques.