Where Should a Virtual Guide Stand in a VR Museum?

Xinda Liu, Kun Jiang, Jian Wu, Lili Wang, Guohua Geng

Abstract: In VR museums, where virtual guides play a key role, optimizing their position is critical to enhancing user experience. This paper models the location relationship between relic, visitor and virtual guide through user studies, and introduces the Asymmetrical Mutual Virtual Retargeting (AMVR) method, which addresses challenges related to visual occlusion and multi-user sensory inconsistency. AMVR uses a unique virtual retargeting technique applied to both users simultaneously. The method redirects each user’s gaze to the other’s guide, while confusing the direction of view and body orientation, so that each user believes everyone is looking at their guide. This approach optimizes the guide’s position based on the differing locations of users, resulting in asymmetrical rotational gains during retargeting. By improving the spatial interaction between users and virtual guides, AMVR ensures smoother, more comfortable navigation while maintaining consistent guide presence for all users. Two user studies conducted to evaluate the method demonstrated significant improvements in task efficiency and user satisfaction, particularly in reducing occlusion and enhancing the perception of the consistent guide. Questionnaire results showed AMVR did not increase user discomfort and provided a more intuitive experience compared to other methods. AMVR offers a promising solution for optimizing multi-user interactions in VR museums, providing a strong basis for future research in virtual human-computer interaction.