Effects of Visual Depth on Vergence-Accommodation Conflict in Gaze- and Controller-Based Selection in Virtual Reality
Abstract
The vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC) in stereoscopic head-mounted displays is known to affect depth perception and interaction performance. Prior studies have examined its impact on a controller, but it remains unclear how the VAC affects gaze pointing in Virtual Reality. Here, we investigate Gaze- and Controller-based 3D target selection under varying depth conditions. Results show that Gaze is more prone to depth variation, exhibiting longer movement times, higher variability along the task axis, and lower throughput than Controller-based interaction. Fitts' law modeling with a "Variation in Diopter" term further indicates greater depth-dependent variability for gaze input. Despite these differences, perceived usability and workload were comparable. These findings suggest that the VAC affects pointing modalities differently, which should be considered when designing gaze-enabled 3D interfaces.
Methodology
We evaluated gaze- and controller-based 3D selection across four visual depth conditions (0.75 D, 1.0 D, 1.25 D, and 1.5 D) centered around the HMD's focal plane in a Meta Quest Pro.
The view inside the headset during the 3D selection task: (a) User pointing with the controller, (b) User pointing using gaze.
Results
Results show that gaze pointing is more sensitive to depth variations than controller raycasting, exhibiting longer movement times, higher spatial variability along the task axis, and lower throughput at farther depths.
Selection accuracy / spatial variability (SDx) along the primary task axis across target depth conditions.
Movement time (MT) across depth conditions for GAZE (blue) and CONTROLLER (green) pointing.
Angular throughput across depth conditions for GAZE and CONTROLLER pointing modalities.
Fitts' law linear regression for CONTROLLER pointing across all Depth conditions in a mixed manner.
Fitts' law linear regression for GAZE pointing across all Depth conditions in a mixed manner.
Poster
BibTeX
@inproceedings{bashar2026effects,
author = {Bashar, Mohammad Raihanul and Amini, Mohammadreza and Mutasim, Aunnoy K. and Barrera Machuca, Mayra Donaji and Stuerzlinger, Wolfgang and Batmaz, Anil Ufuk},
title = {Effects of Visual Depth on Vergence-Accommodation Conflict in Gaze- and Controller-Based Selection in Virtual Reality},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
series = {CHI EA '26},
articleno = {250},
numpages = {6},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1145/3772363.3798344}
}