Walking Through or Detour? Investigating Walking Paths with World‑Anchored Mixed Reality Objects

In mixed reality environments, virtual objects can obscure real-world obstacles, creating a risk of collision when users walk through them. Although users may choose to detour around virtual objects, this behavior also carries risks, such as colliding with obstacles or pedestrians along the detour route. To reduce collision risks, it is essential to understand the factors that determine whether users walk through or detour, as well as the walking paths associated with each behavior. In this research, we investigated users’ walking behavior toward both a static virtual obstacle and a virtual obstacle that disappeared as the user approached. Our findings suggest that individual characteristics and the width of the virtual obstacle influence the decision to walk through or detour. Furthermore, while most users initially chose paths that detoured around the virtual obstacle, once the obstacle began to disappear, they switched their walking paths toward the space where it had been.