[DC] Impact of Mixed Reality on Spatial Perception and Affordances

This study examines the impact of mixed reality environments on spatial behavior. In a first study, we investigated a navigation task, specifically a goal-directed task. Participants performed this task under both real-world and mixed reality conditions, navigating through doors of varying widths. The main objective was to evaluate how the technological limitations of mixed reality headsets (including restricted field of view, resolution, and refresh rate) influence navigation behaviors. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) mixed reality modifies behavioral adjustments compared to a real-world environment, and (2) distance perception in mixed reality is underestimated, leading to compensatory behavioral adjustments, particularly in deceleration and shoulder rotation strategies. The key variables analyzed included deceleration threshold (the distance at which participants reduce their speed before passing through the door) and shoulder rotation threshold (the distance at which they begin adopting a lateral gait). The results aim to shed light on the effects of immersive environments on spatial perception and motor adaptation, with implications for the design of navigation interfaces in mixed reality systems.