Evaluating Spatialized Auditory Cues for Rapid Attention Capture in XR
Yoonsang Kim, Swapnil Dey, Arie Kaufman

TL;DR
This study explores how brief spatialized audio cues can quickly guide user attention in XR environments, assessing localization accuracy and calibration effects for rapid, non-visual attention shifts.
Contribution
It provides empirical data on the effectiveness of short-duration spatial audio cues and calibration methods for rapid attention guidance in XR scenarios.
Findings
Brief spatial cues convey coarse directional information effectively.
Short calibration improves users' perception of spatial audio signals.
Auditory cues alone may be insufficient for high-precision tasks.
Abstract
In time-critical eXtended reality (XR) scenarios where users must rapidly reorient their attention to hazards, alerts, or instructions while engaged in a primary task, spatial audio can provide an immediate directional cue without occupying visual bandwidth. However, such scenarios can afford only a brief auditory exposure, requiring users to interpret sound direction quickly and without extended listening or head-driven refinement. This paper reports a controlled exploratory study of rapid spatial-audio localization in XR. Using HRTF-rendered broadband stimuli presented from a semi-dense set of directions around the listener, we quantify how accurately users can infer coarse direction from brief audio alone. We further examine the effects of short-term visuo-auditory feedback training as a lightweight calibration mechanism. Our findings show that brief spatial cues can convey coarse…
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