🥽Tag-Along Virtual Windows Increase Perceived Resistance and Task Load in Augmented Reality

IEEE Transaction on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG)
Special Issue IEEE VR 2026

Xplore (TBA)
motoki portrait
Motoki Kagami1
yuta portrait
Yuta Kataoka2
yutaro portrait
Yutaro Hirao1
monica portrait
Monica Perusquía-Hernández1
satoshi portrait
Satoshi Hashiguchi2
hideaki portrait
Hideaki Uchiyama1
kiyoshi portrait
Kiyoshi Kiyokawa1
shohei portrait
Shohei Mori3

1Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 2Ritsumeikan University, 3University of Stuttgart

kagami_tvcg26_teaser.jpg
Overview of our experiment on head-following virtual windows in AR. We manipulated UI type (Head-Locked vs. Tag-Along) and follow-up delay to examine their effects on perceived resistance during horizontal head rotations. Tag-Along windows and longer follow-up delays elicited stronger perceived resistance, while Head-Locked windows produced weaker resistance.

Abstract Augmented Reality (AR) can enhance accessibility by anchoring virtual windows to the user's body. Among common approaches, head-following windows help maintain floating virtual windows within the user's field of view. Previous studies have actively explored this new design space to improve user experience and efficiency. In contrast, this study focuses on the perceived resistance of head-following windows in AR, despite their lack of physical mass. We conducted a within-subject experiment with 24 participants, manipulating follow-up delay, window size, and UI type (Head-Locked vs.\ Tag-Along). We measured subjective resistance ratings, NASA-TLX (Raw TLX Scores), and the gaze--head angular offset. The results showed that both a certain level of follow-up delay and the Tag-Along UI elicited significantly stronger perceived resistance as well as task load. Although window size alone did not show a significant effect on resistance ratings, we observed an interaction between the size and UI type. These findings extend existing pseudo-haptics research by revealing the previously unexplored domain of resistance in head-based interactions with head-following virtual windows. We further provide design implications for head-following windows in AR.

BibTex 
@article{li_tvcg25,
    author={Kagami, Motoki and Kataoka, Yuta and Hirao, Yutaro and Perusquia-Hernandez, Monica and Hashiguchi, Satoshi and Uchiyama, Hideaki and Kiyokawa, Kiyoshi and Mori, Shohei},
    journal={IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG)}, 
    title={Tag-Along Virtual Windows Increase Perceived Resistance and Task Load in Augmented Reality}, 
    volume={},
    number={},
    pages={},
    year={2026}
}

Acknowledgement This work was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy – EXC 2120/1 – 390831618, and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP22H00539.