Effects of Stereo Viewing Conditions on Distance Perception in Virtual Environments

TLDR

Studies report that virtual environments compress intended space, possibly due to inaccuracies and cue conflicts in stereo viewing conditions on head‑mounted displays. The study manipulates stereo viewing conditions in a head‑mounted display to examine how measured versus fixed inter‑pupillary distances and bi‑ocular versus monocular viewing affect absolute distance judgments. The authors varied inter‑pupillary distance (measured and fixed) and viewing mode (bi‑ocular and monocular) in a head‑mounted display to assess their impact on distance perception. Distance compression was unchanged by manipulating inter‑pupillary distance or viewing mode, indicating that head‑mounted display stereo limitations are unlikely to explain the compression seen in earlier studies.

Abstract

Several studies from different research groups investigating perception of absolute, egocentric distances in virtual environments have reported a compression of the intended size of the virtual space. One potential explanation for the compression is that inaccuracies and cue conflicts involving stereo viewing conditions in head mounted displays result in an inaccurate absolute scaling of the virtual world. We manipulate stereo viewing conditions in a head mounted display and show the effects of using both measured and fixed inter-pupilary distances, as well as bi-ocular and monocular viewing of graphics, on absolute distance judgments. Our results indicate that the amount of compression of distance judgments is unaffected by these manipulations. The equivalent performance with stereo, bi-ocular, and monocular viewing suggests that the limitations on the presentation of stereo imagery that are inherent in head mounted displays are likely not the source of distance compression reported in previous virtual environment studies.