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The effects of virtual reality, augmented reality, and motion parallax on egocentric depth perception

Authors:

Stephen R. EllisAuthors Info & Claims

APGV '08: Proceedings of the 5th symposium on Applied perception in graphics and visualization

Pages 9 - 14

https://doi.org/10.1145/1394281.1394283

Published: 09 August 2008 Publication History

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Abstract

As the use of virtual and augmented reality applications becomes more common, the need to fully understand how observers perceive spatial relationships grows more critical. One of the key requirements in engineering a practical virtual or augmented reality system is accurately conveying depth and layout. This requirement has frequently been assessed by measuring judgments of egocentric depth. These assessments have shown that observers in virtual reality (VR) perceive virtual space as compressed relative to the real-world, resulting in systematic underestimations of egocentric depth. Previous work has indicated that similar effects may be present in augmented reality (AR) as well.

This paper reports an experiment that directly measured egocentric depth perception in both VR and AR conditions; it is believed to be the first experiment to directly compare these conditions in the same experimental framework. In addition to VR and AR, two control conditions were studied: viewing real-world objects, and viewing real-world objects through a head-mounted display. Finally, the presence and absence of motion parallax was crossed with all conditions. Like many previous studies, this one found that depth perception was underestimated in VR, although the magnitude of the effect was surprisingly low. The most interesting finding was that no underestimation was observed in AR.

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Cited By

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Inagaki SMatsuura HSakurai KMinati LYoshimura N(2024)Decline in Sensory Integration in Old Age and Its Related Functional Brain Connectivity Correlates Observed during a Virtual Reality TaskBrain Sciences10.3390/brainsci1408084014:8(840)Online publication date: 21-Aug-2024
https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14080840
Prinz LMathew T(2024)Support Lines and Grids for Depth Ordering in Indoor Augmented Reality using Optical See-Through Head-Mounted DisplaysProceedings of the 2024 ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction10.1145/3677386.3682097(1-11)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677386.3682097
Tan HNie TRosenberg E(2024)Invisible Mesh: Effects of X-Ray Vision Metaphors on Depth Perception in Optical-See-Through Augmented Reality2024 IEEE Conference Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)10.1109/VR58804.2024.00059(376-386)Online publication date: 16-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1109/VR58804.2024.00059
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Index Terms

The effects of virtual reality, augmented reality, and motion parallax on egocentric depth perception
1. Computing methodologies
  1. Computer graphics
    1. Graphics systems and interfaces
      1. Virtual reality
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction paradigms
      1. Mixed / augmented reality
      2. Virtual reality

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Reviews

Reviewer: Felix Hamza-Lup

Depth perception is an interesting area of research in virtual environments. With the advent of augmented reality (AR) applications, it is increasingly being studied. The complexity of an AR environment is due to the difficulty of the calibration procedure required to bring the virtual components in register (that is, in correspondence) with the real environment. Even without stereoscopic vision, humans can still perceive depth based on a myriad of depth cues interpreted by the brain. Research studies show that depth cues are important for accurate estimation of the location of objects in pure virtual reality (VR) as well as in AR environments. In this paper, the authors describe an experiment that targets the estimation of human egocentric depth perception in VR and AR. A common technique for measuring an observer's judgment of egocentric depth is a visually directed walk. See-through head-mounted displays (HMD) are used as three-dimensional (3D) visualization systems and a six-degrees-of-freedom tracking system. All experimental conditions are tested along with motion parallax to determine whether this could be an additional cue for more accurate depth orientation. Additionally, three major calibration procedures are performed. The experimental setup includes a hallway with a white pyramid being the target object, positioned along the ground plane at a distance of two to eight meters from the observer. A group of 16 observers of different ages and genders participated in the study, with five practice trials prior to the experimental runs. The results of the experiment show that the observers underestimated depth perception in VR to a lesser degree than stated in previous research. No depth underestimation took place in the AR setup. Motion parallax only had a significant effect in the case of the real+HMD setup (that is, observers see the real object through the HMD) and, contrary to the authors' expectations, caused observers to underestimate the depth. Online Computing Reviews Service

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Published In

APGV '08: Proceedings of the 5th symposium on Applied perception in graphics and visualization

August 2008

209 pages

ISBN:9781595939814

DOI:10.1145/1394281

Program Chairs:
Sarah Creem-Regehr
University of Utah
,
Karol Myszkowski
MPI Informatik

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Publication History

Published: 09 August 2008

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APGV08

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SIGGRAPH

APGV08: ACM Symposium on Applied Perception in Graphics and Visualization

August 9 - 10, 2008

California, Los Angeles

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Overall Acceptance Rate 19 of 33 submissions, 58%

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Cited By

View all

Inagaki SMatsuura HSakurai KMinati LYoshimura N(2024)Decline in Sensory Integration in Old Age and Its Related Functional Brain Connectivity Correlates Observed during a Virtual Reality TaskBrain Sciences10.3390/brainsci1408084014:8(840)Online publication date: 21-Aug-2024
https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14080840
Prinz LMathew T(2024)Support Lines and Grids for Depth Ordering in Indoor Augmented Reality using Optical See-Through Head-Mounted DisplaysProceedings of the 2024 ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction10.1145/3677386.3682097(1-11)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677386.3682097
Tan HNie TRosenberg E(2024)Invisible Mesh: Effects of X-Ray Vision Metaphors on Depth Perception in Optical-See-Through Augmented Reality2024 IEEE Conference Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)10.1109/VR58804.2024.00059(376-386)Online publication date: 16-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1109/VR58804.2024.00059
Hmaiti YMaslych MGhasemaghaei AGhamandi RLaViola J(2024)Visual Perceptual Confidence: Exploring Discrepancies Between Self-reported and Actual Distance Perception In Virtual RealityIEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics10.1109/TVCG.2024.345616530:11(7245-7254)Online publication date: 1-Nov-2024
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Westermeier FBrübach LWienrich CLatoschik M(2024)Assessing Depth Perception in VR and Video See-Through AR: A Comparison on Distance Judgment, Performance, and PreferenceIEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics10.1109/TVCG.2024.337206130:5(2140-2150)Online publication date: 4-Mar-2024
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Zisch FCoutrot ANewton CMurcia-López MMotala AGreaves Jde Cothi WSteed ATyler NGage SSpiers H(2024)Real and virtual environments have comparable spatial memory distortions after scale and geometric transformationsSpatial Cognition & Computation10.1080/13875868.2024.230301624:2(115-143)Online publication date: 14-Feb-2024
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