Impossible spaces make it possible to maximize the area of virtual environments that can be explored on foot through self-overlapping virtual architecture. This paper details a study exploring how users' ability to detect overlapping virtual architecture is affected when the virtual environment includes distractors that impose additional cognitive load by challenging the users. The results indicate that such distractors both increase self-reported task load and reduce users' ability to reliably detect overlaps between adjacent virtual rooms. That is, rooms could overlap by up to 68% when distractors were presented, compared to 40% when no distractors were present. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Virtual reality; Interaction techniques.

Impossible spaces make it possible to maximize the area of virtual environments that can be explored on foot through self-overlapping virtual architecture. This paper details a study exploring how users' ability to detect overlapping virtual architecture is affected when the virtual environment includes distractors that impose additional cognitive load by challenging the users. The results indicate that such distractors both increase self-reported task load and reduce users' ability to reliably detect overlaps between adjacent virtual rooms. That is, rooms could overlap by up to 68% when distractors were presented, compared to 40% when no distractors were present. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Virtual reality; Interaction techniques.

Haptic retargeting using body warpingThe user's virtual and physical hands are co-located.The movement of the physical and virtual hands are offset.The misaligned physical and virtual objects are grasped simultaneously. Change blindness remappingThe virtual object and physical proxy are not co-located.When the user looks away the virtual object is aligned with the physical proxy.Co-location is achieved and the user can interact. Figure 1: Illustration of haptic retargeting based on body warping (left) and change blindness remapping (right) adapted from [33].