Real-World Clutter Improves Egocentric Distance Judgments in Optical See-Through Augmented Reality

Sodabe Bandali ¹, Yuanhao Lyu ¹, Soumyajit Chakraborty ¹, Jeanine K. Stefanucci ², Sarah H. Creem-Regehr ², and Bobby Bodenheimer ¹
^{1 Vanderbilt University, 2 University of Utah}

Accurate distance perception is critical for effective interaction in augmented reality (AR), yet users often underestimate distances to virtual objects in optical see-through AR (OST-AR). While prior work suggests that environmental clutter can improve distance judgments in VR, it remains unclear whether clutter provides the same benefit in OST-AR, especially when the clutter is virtually rendered rather than physically present. To examine this question, we conducted a blind-walking study in which 36 participants, wearing a Microsoft HoloLens 2, judged egocentric distances across three between-subjects environments: No Clutter, Real-World Clutter, and AR Clutter. Real-World Clutter significantly reduced distance underestimation and produced near-veridical judgments, whereas AR Clutter did not significantly improve accuracy compared with the other environments. These findings suggest that physical objects in the surrounding environment can provide useful spatial references for judging virtual target distances in OST-AR, whereas virtual clutter may offer less reliable perceptual support. More broadly, this work highlights the importance of considering real-world environmental context when designing AR experiences that require accurate spatial perception and interaction.

Worked on assisting Sodabe and Frank in writing and refining the paper. The paper can be found here. The presentation video of the paper at ACM SAP 2026 can be found in the video below.