The Effect of Narrow Field of View and Information Density on Visual Search Performance in Augmented Reality

Many optical-see-through displays have a relatively narrow field of view. However, a limited field of view can constrain how information can be presented and searched through. To understand these constraints, we present a series of experiments that address the interrelationships between field of view, information density, and search performance. We do so by simulating various fields of view using two approaches: limiting the field of view presented on a Microsoft HoloLens optical-see-through head-worn display and dynamically changing the portion of a large tiled-display wall on which information is presented, for head-tracked users in both cases. Our results indicate a significant effect of information density and field of view on search performance, with potential search performance benefits of using a larger FOV between ca. 7-28%. Furthermore, while grids guided visual search, they did not significantly affect performance.