Dynamic targets searching assistance based on virtual camera priority

Background: When a user walks freely in an unknown virtual scene and searches for multiple dynamic targets, the lack of a comprehensive understanding of the environment may have a negative impact on the execution of virtual reality tasks. Previous studies can help users with auxiliary tools, such as top view maps or trails, and exploration guidance, for example, automatically generated paths according to the user location and important static spots in virtual scenes. However, in some virtual reality applications, when the scene has complex occlusions, and the user cannot obtain any real-time position information of the dynamic target, the above assistance cannot help the user complete the task more effectively. Methods: We design a virtual camera priority-based assistance to help the user search dynamic targets efficiently. Instead of forcing users to go to destinations, we provide an optimized instant path to guide them to places where they are more likely to find dynamic targets when they ask for help. We assume that a certain number of virtual cameras are fixed in virtual scenes to obtain extra depth maps, which capture the depth information of the scene and the locations of the dynamic targets. Our methodautomatically analyzes the priority of these virtual cameras, chooses the destination, and generates an instant path to assist the user in finding the dynamic targets. Our method is suitable for various virtual reality applications that do not require manual supervision or input. Results: A user study is designed to evaluate the proposed method. The results indicate that compared with three conventional navigation methods, such as the top-view method, our method can help users find dynamic targets more efficiently. The advantages include reducing the task completion time, reducing the number of resets, increasing the average distance between resets, and reducing user task load. Conclusions: We presented a method for improving dynamic target searching efficiency in virtual scenes by virtual camera priority-based path guidance. Compared with three conventional navigation methods, such as the top-view method, this method can help users find dynamic targets more effectively.