Research on the application of gaze visualization interface on virtual reality training systems

Although virtual reality (VR) training provides a realistic environment that offers an immersive experience for learners, it can affect the training progress by triggering a cognitive load or distracting learners from focusing on the main content of the training. In this study, the application of a gaze visualization interface to a medical safety training system was proposed to prevent learner distraction, which is an issue usually experienced in traditional VR training systems. An experiment was conducted to analyze the effects of applying the gaze visualization interface to a medical training system on the learning performance. Based on related studies, the following three metrics were selected to evaluate the learning performance: learning flow, achievement, and concentration. After the experiment, flow and achievement were evaluated through surveys and quizzes. These evaluation methods can also distort learners’ memories, making it difficult to analyze objective learning outcomes. Eye-tracking technology is useful for measuring learning performance in multimedia learning environments and can represent learner’s eye movements in objective metrics. Therefore, in this study, eye-tracking technology was used to evaluate concentration. The experimental results suggest that the gaze visualization interface had positive effects on learners’ concentration, learning flow, and achievement.