User Attention with Head-Worn Displays.

Recently there has been a surge of interest in wearable devices both in industry and academia. This includes the introduction of head-worn devices into everyday life. Head-worn devices have the advantage of containing a screen that is easily seen by the wearer at all times, in contrast with other device screens, which can be hidden in pockets or simply easily ignored. However, during certain activities it can be difficult to get the wearer to notice messages even when presented through head-worn devices. For certain applications, it may be important that the user does not miss a particular notification or warning. Not much is known about which methods work best to attract the users' attention in such situations. We describe results from two user studies to determine the best method to catch the attention of a user with a head-worn display.