Quieting the Cobwebs: Browser Interaction for Visual Floaters

2026-05-12

AI Summary

This study addresses the impact of visual floaters—a condition affecting nearly one-third of the population—on screen-based tasks, where their dynamic interference substantially degrades text legibility and task efficiency. For the first time in human-computer interaction research, this work models the dynamic characteristics of floaters by developing a physiologically grounded floater simulator based on ocular biomechanics. Using this simulator, the authors quantitatively evaluate text readability under varying degrees of eye movement and introduce a universal browser extension that enhances visual signal-to-noise ratio by minimizing required eye motion. Crucially, the tool operates without modifying website code, seamlessly adapting to all web UI elements. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed solution significantly improves both perceived clarity and task performance for users affected by floaters during web browsing.

Abstract

Floaters, cobweb-like shadows that move around a person's visual field, impair vision for nearly 33% of the population, yet have limited treatment options. Floaters especially harm screen use, since they reduce contrast, introduce clutter, and add moving distractions. While existing high-contrast tools offer some help, few address the motion that makes screen use with floaters uniquely difficult. In this paper, we build a floater simulation inspired by the physics of the eye, use it to quantitatively assess text readability at varying levels of motion, and build a novel web extension that minimizes eye movement, maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio of performing browser tasks. Importantly, our tool works not only for text, but for all UI elements, requiring no modifications to existing websites.

Problem

• floaters
• visual impairment
• screen readability
• eye movement
• user interface

Innovation

• floater simulation
• eye movement minimization
• browser extension
• visual accessibility
• signal-to-noise ratio