Evaluating usability gaps in passthrough mixed reality interfaces

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2575889

Passthrough is one of the major features of mixed reality (MR), a technology connecting physical and digital worlds. However, passthrough technology suffers from visual displacement between the cameras and users’ eyes, leading to negative symptoms such as nausea and disorientation. In this paper, the usability of the Meta Quest 3 passthrough feature was evaluated by conducting experiments in which 16 participants performed everyday tasks in a controlled indoor campus setting. These tasks included walking a predefined route, solving jigsaw puzzles, playing office basketball, and drawing a circle. Our results showed that passthrough technology hindered users’ experience in doing everyday tasks. They completed the tasks in longer periods and with higher error rates while using the headset. Additionally, users reported motion sickness and depth misperception, affecting their ability to perform accurate movements. Results demonstrate the need for improving rendering, calibration, and latency reduction to overcome limitations of passthrough technology in real-world tasks.