Part 1

Introduction
Virtual environments are envisioned as being

the systems that enhance the

communication between humans and
computers.
If virtual systems are to be effective and well
received by their users:
considerable human-factors research needs to be

accomplished.

It is the capabilities and limitations of the

user that would determine the

effectiveness of virtual worlds

Introduction
In simulating an experience, a VR system may

generate various signals and simulation in many

modalities, and use various display devices to convey
them to the human user.
Ideally, the display devices should be ergonomically
designed, have sufficient resolution for the user and
match the perceptual capability of humans.
The application developers must understand the
perceptual capabilities of the human sensory system,
and convey the right amount of modality simulations,
integrate and synchronize them, and deliver them to
human user using the right display devices.

VR Task Characteristics
the nature of the tasks being performed in the

VE directly influence how effectively humans

can function in virtual world.

To justify the use of VE technology for a given

task, when compared to alternative

approaches,

the use of a VE should improve task performance

when transferred to the real-world task because the

VE system capitalizes on a fundamental and
distinctively human sensory, perceptual,
information-processing, or cognitive capability.

VR Task Characteristics
In medicine
Benefits of interactive displays such as the ability

to interactively explore complex spatial and

temporal anatomical relationships (McConathy &
Doyle, 1993; Meyer & Delaney, 1995; Wright,
Rolland, & Kancherla, 1995).

In fitness performance
Highly interactive exercise environments have been

shown to produce significantly more mechanical

output (i.e. calories burned per minute) and
promote greater and more consistent participation
than less interactive environments (Cherry, 1995).

User Characteristics
Lost in the virtual worlds.
McGovern (1993) found that operators of

teleoperated land vehicles, even when

using maps and landmarks, have a
propensity for becoming lost.
This is because knowledge acquisition from

maps is more challenging for some individuals

than for others and has been found to be
associated with high visual/spatial ability
(Thorndyke & Statz, 1980).

User Characteristics
How to assist low-spatial users with maintaining

spatial orientation within virtual worlds?

A study indicates that, although low-spatial

individuals are unable to mentally induce the

structure of multidimensional complex systems,
they are capable of recognizing the structure of
systems when they are well organized and
when focus is placed on acquiring their
structure (Stanney & Salvendy, 1994).

User Characteristics
Initial interactions with VEs by low-spatial

individuals may thus be best focused on

system structure (i.e., layout) exploration
rather than task accomplishments, until users
have recognized the spatial structure of the virtual
world.
If task workload is high during the initial stages of system

use, it is likely that low-spatial individuals will have limited

ability to generate an accurate representation of the system.

User Characteristics
Deficits in perception and cognition,

which are often experienced by the elderly

(Birren & Livingston, 1985; Fisk & Rogers,
1991; Hertzog, 1989; Salthouse, 1992), may
lead to a reduction in the information
perceived from VE scenes.

Older individuals generally experience lower

visual acuity and reduced contrast

sensitivity that could limit sensory input
from a virtual environment.

VE Design Constraints
Related
Without
a foundation
of knowledge in the
to
Human
Sensory
abilities and limitations imposed by human
sensory and motor physiology, there is a
Limitations
chance that VE systems will not be
compatible with their users.

The physiological and perceptual issues that

directly impact the design of VEs include

1. visual perception,
2. auditory perception,and
3. haptic and kinesthetic perception.

Human Visual Perception

As part of the human visual system, stereo vision

is one of the main factors that contribute to a

users perception of realism within a virtual world
The human visual system is based on stereo
vision
A human perceives information such as depth
based on the disparity between left and right eyes
For VE designers trying to achieve stereo depth
perception it is important to note that lateral
image disparity (in the range of 07 to 107) leads
to depth perception (Kalawsky, 1993).

Human Visual System

Our visual system processes information

in two distinct ways:

1. Conscious processing
When we are looking at a photograph, or reading a
book or map requires conscious visual processing
and hence usually requires some learned skill.
2. preconscious processing
Describes our basic ability to perceive light, color,
form, depth and movement.
The processing is more autonomous, and we are less
aware that it is happening

Human Visual System

eyes are specialized cells form structures which

perform several functions:

the pupil acts as the aperture where muscles control how

much light passes,

the crystalline lens performs focusing of light by using
muscles to change it's shape, and
the retina is the workhorse converting light into electrical
impulses for processing by our brains.

Our brain performs visual processing by breaking

down the neural information into smaller chunks

and passing it thorough several filter neurons.
Some of these neurons detect only drastic changes in

color, others neurons detect only vertical edges or

horizontal edges.

Eye Anatomy

Eyes Characteristics
The physical characteristics of the eye strongly affect

the performance of the human visual system.

Pupil characteristics are the most relevant to HMD
designs.
HMDs must account for both the size and location of
the pupil of the eye.
The pupil can vary in diameter from 2 mm in bright
light to 7 mm in darkness.
Under normal daytime indoor conditions, 4 mm is a
good average pupil diameter to use in HMD design.
The pupil, however, is not stationary it rotates.
Easy rotation angles are 7.5 (H) and +0, - 30 (V)
Maximum rotation angles are 15 (H) and + 30, 35 (V).

Human Depth Perception &

Stereoscopy

Human perceives 3D objects uses the depth

perception capability in the immediate space
around them.
Depth information is important in realizing 3D
objects and natural interaction in the virtual
environment.
Physiologically, depth information is extracted
from the two slightly different views of the
world that are input through the right and left
eyes.

Human Depth Perception &

Stereoscopy
(cont.)
The two images are fused in the brain and different

(also known as disparity) between them is

processed in the brain to create the sense of depth.

The portion of the visual field shared by both eyes

is known as the binocular field of vision or

stereoscopy (Haber & Hershenson, 1973). It
provides depth perception.

Binocular disparity is a very strong depth

perception cue for viewing ranges within 10-15 m

from the eyes.

Stereoscopic Cues
Stereo - a different view seen by the left and

right eyes, becomes the next most important cue

for objects closer than 3 m.
Depth through stereo prove unsatisfactory for
extended use applications because of eye
fatigue.

We obtain stereoscopic cues by extracting

relevant depth information

by comparing the left and right views coming
each of our eyes.

Human Depth Perception &

Stereoscopy (cont.)

When looking at objects, human adjust the

size of their eye lens and rotate the

eyeballs.
Adjusting the size of the eye lens (to focus

on an object) is called accommodation

and the rotation of the eyeball (to focus
but more on fusing images from two eyes)
is called convergence.

Human Depth Perception &

Stereoscopy
(cont.)

Accommodation & Convergence are

coupled together

When the eyes converge on a certain

object, the accommodation and

convergence are sensed by the brain to
help determine the depth of the object.

Most effective within the range of 5 to 10

m from the user.

Human Visual System In

Summary
Accommodation is the focusing of the lens of the eye

through muscle movement.

As subject age, their ability (speed and accuracy) to

accommodate decreases (Soderberg et al, 1983).

For example, the time to accommodate between
infinity to 10" for a 28 year-old is .8 seconds while
a 41 year-old will take 2 seconds (Kruger, 1980).
The ability to rapidly accommodate appears to
decline at the age of 30 and those over 50 will
suffer the most.
Younger subjects (under the age of 20) will
accommodate faster regardless of target size.
However, the ability to accommodate may begin
to decline as early as age 10.

Accommodation &
Convergence
Accommodation, changing the focus of the eye

for objects of varying distances, is very important

for the long-term comfort of the HMD user.
On average, a person changes focus several times each

minute. Each re-focus exercises the eye muscles.

The fatigue reported by people who stare into computer
monitors all day is partially caused by keeping a fixed
focus for longer than is natural.

Convergence, aiming the pupils directly at an

object, is not a critical cue for depth perception, but

it is used for objects closer than 1 m.
Discomfort occurs when the stereo cue places an object in

a different location than either (or both) the

accommodation or convergence cues.

Human Depth Perception &

Stereoscopy
(cont.)
There are also many psychological
(nonphysiological) cues that help human to sense
depth.
They include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

the effect of perspective views (parallel lines coming to

a vanishing point on the horizon),
object occulation (feeling that the occluded object is
deeper),
existence of shadows,
motion parallax (far objects seem to move less rapidly),
relative size (far objects look smaller)

Human Visual Perception

A human perceives less detail in objects that are located

further away compared to closer objects

Objects that are further from the users will appear to be

smaller from the users viewpoint

Occlusion - closer objects blocking more distant objects.

is the only depth cue for objects beyond 2 -3 m from the observer and is
extremely important when objects, or the user, are in motion.

Human Visual System & Sense of

Visual Immersion in VR

Comes from several factors which include:

1. field of view,
2. frame refresh rate,
3. eye tracking/ position and orientation tracking.

Human Visual System & Sense of

Visual Immersion in VR
Limited field of view can result in a tunnel vision feeling.
Frame refresh rates must be high enough to allow our

eyes to blend together the individual frames into the illusion

of motion and limit the sense of latency between
movements of the head and body and regeneration of the
scene.

Eye tracking / position or orientation tracking

can solve the problem of someone not looking where their head is

oriented.
can also help to reduce computational load when rendering frames,
since we could render in high resolution only where the eyes are
looking.

Field of View (FOV)

Different animals have different fields of view,

depending on the placement of the eyes.

Humans have an almost 180-degree forward-

facing field of view, while some birds have a

complete or nearly-complete 360-degree field of
view. In addition, the vertical range of the field of
view may vary.
Visual field slowly declines with age. From nearly

180 degrees at age 20, to 135 degrees at age 80.

Field of View (FOV)

Binocular vision which is important for depth

perception, only covers 140 degrees of the field of

vision in humans; the remaining peripheral 40
degrees have no binocular vision
The horizontal fields of both eyes overlap in the

center (binocular field of view)

Field of View (FOV)

Color vision and the ability to perceive shape and

motion vary across the field of view; in humans the

former is concentrated in the center of the visual
field, while the latter tends to be much stronger in
the periphery.

This is due to the much higher concentration of color-

sensitive cone cells in the fovea, the central region of

the retina, in comparison to the higher concentration
of motion-sensitive rod cells in the periphery.

Since cone cells require considerably brighter light

sources to be activated, the result of this distribution

is that peripheral vision is much stronger at night
relative to binocular vision

Spatial Resolution
The eyes tend to work hard to focus a

blurry or low-resolution image.

When the image displayed is of low

quality, out of focus or too few pixels, the

eye strains and becomes tired.

Head Motion
Tracking is extremely important for head motion.
Lag between the image displayed and the actual head

orientation/location can be the greatest obstacle in

creating an effective HMD based system.
The motions expected in the HMD should be the basis
for determining what type of tracker will be needed.
When an image registered see through type display is
needed or targeting is desired, lag must be
minimized.
Although a lag of 16 ms is perceivable, most HMD /
tracking / rendering systems are in the 60 90ms
range.

References
Stanney et al (1998) Human Factors Issues in

Virtual Environments: A Review of the Literature,

Presence, Vol. 7, No. 4, August 1998, 327351, by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology [web]
Keller, K., and Colucci, D. (1998) Perception in
HMDs: What is it in Head Mounted Displays
(HMDs) that really make them all so terrible
[web]
Lingard, B (1995). Human Interfacing Issues of
Virtual Reality [web]
Dr. Oliver Staadt, ECS 289H: Human Factors and
Perception (lecture notes), Univ of California
[web]

Tutorial 2
1. Discuss the importance of human factors in

designing VR applications and devices.

2. Explain 4 depth cues that contribute to the

realistic outlook of a 3D virtual environment.

3. Define the following terms: Stereoscopic view,

Accommodation, Convergence, Occlusion, and

FOV

4. By using a suitable diagram, explain how human

visual system works.