Change Blindness in 3D Virtual Reality

In the present change blindness study subjects explored stereoscopic three dimensional (3D) environments through a virtual reality (VR) headset. A novel method that tracked the subjects' head movements was used for inducing changes in the scene whenever the changing object was out of the field of view. The effect of change location (foreground or background in 3D depth) on change blindness was investigated. Two experiments were conducted, one in the lab (n = 50) and the other online (n = 25). Up to 25% of the changes were undetected and the mean overall search time was 27 seconds in the lab study. Results indicated significantly lower change detection success and more change cycles if the changes occurred in the background, with no differences in overall search times. The results confirm findings from previous studies and extend them to 3D environments. The study also demonstrates the feasibility of online VR experiments.

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Contextual-Cueing beyond the Initial Field of View—A Virtual Reality Experiment

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci10070446 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 446

Author(s):

Nico Marek ◽

Stefan Pollmann

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Incidental Learning ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Search Time ◽

Specific Aspect ◽

Head Movements ◽

Field Of View ◽

Contextual Cueing ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Initial Field

In visual search, participants can incidentally learn spatial target-distractor configurations, leading to shorter search times for repeated compared to novel configurations. Usually, this is tested within the limited visual field provided by a computer monitor. While contextual cueing is typically investigated on two-dimensional screens, we present for the first time an implementation of a classic contextual cueing task (search for a T-shape among L-shapes) in a three-dimensional virtual environment. This enabled us to test if the typical finding of incidental learning of repeated search configurations, manifested by shorter search times, would hold in a three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) environment. One specific aspect that was tested by combining virtual reality and contextual cueing was if contextual cueing would hold for targets outside the initial field of view (FOV), requiring head movements to be found. In keeping with two-dimensional search studies, reduced search times were observed after the first epoch and remained stable in the remaining experiment. Importantly, comparable search time reductions were observed for targets both within and outside of the initial FOV. The results show that a repeated distractors-only configuration in the initial FOV can guide search for target locations requiring a head movement to be seen.

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Spatial Auditory Cueing for a Dynamic Three-Dimensional Virtual Reality Visual Search Task

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181319631045 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 1766-1770

Author(s):

Rachel J. Cunio ◽

David Dommett ◽

Joseph Houpt

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Visual Search ◽

Visual System ◽

Spatial Information ◽

Visual Awareness ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Search Time ◽

Primary Concern ◽

Search Performance ◽

Auditory Cues

Maintaining spatial awareness is a primary concern for operators, but relying only on visual displays can cause visual system overload and lead to performance decrements. Our study examined the benefits of providing spatialized auditory cues for maintaining visual awareness as a method of combating visual system overload. We examined visual search performance of seven participants in an immersive, dynamic (moving), three-dimensional, virtual reality environment both with no cues, non-masked, spatialized auditory cues, and masked, spatialized auditory cues. Results indicated a significant reduction in visual search time from the no-cue condition when either auditory cue type was presented, with the masked auditory condition slower. The results of this study can inform attempts to improve visual search performance in operational environments, such as determining appropriate display types for providing spatial information.

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Complexity of postural sway affects affordance perception of reachability in virtual reality

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/1747021820943757 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 73 (12) ◽

pp. 2362-2375

Author(s):

Hannah Masoner ◽

Alen Hajnal ◽

Joseph D Clark ◽

Catherine Dowell ◽

Tyler Surber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Visual Perception ◽

Coefficient Of Variation ◽

Stimulus Object ◽

Postural Sway ◽

Response Times ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Head Movements ◽

Central Tendency ◽

Movement Amplitude

Visual perception of whether an object is within reach while standing in different postures was investigated. Participants viewed a three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality (VR) environment with a stimulus object (red ball) placed at different egocentric distances. Participants reported whether the object was reachable while in a standard pose as well as in two separate active balance poses (yoga tree pose and toe-to-heel pose). Feedback on accuracy was not provided, and participants were not allowed to attempt to reach. Response time, affordance judgements (reachable and not reachable), and head movements were recorded on each trial. Consistent with recent research on perception of reaching ability, the perceived boundary occurred at approximately 120% of arm length, indicating overestimation of perceived reaching ability. Response times increased with distance, and were shortest for the most difficult pose—the yoga tree pose. Head movement amplitude increased with increases in balance demands. Unexpectedly, the coefficient of variation was comparable in the two active balance poses, and was more extreme in the standard control pose for the shortest and longest distances. More complex descriptors of postural sway (i.e., effort-to-compress) were predictive of perception while in the tree pose and the toe-to-heel pose, as compared with control stance. This demonstrates that standard measures of central tendency are not sufficient for describing multiscale interactions of postural dynamics in functional tasks.

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3D Virtual Learning Environment for Engineering Students

Web-Based Engineering Education ◽

10.4018/978-1-61520-659-9.ch004 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 42-52

Author(s):

M. Valizadeh ◽

B. Noroozi ◽

G. A. Sorial

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Virtual Learning ◽

3D Models ◽

Essential Elements ◽

Virtual Learning Environment ◽

Meaningful Context ◽

3D Environments ◽

Different Shapes

Virtual Reality and Virtual Learning Environments have become increasingly ambiguous terms in recent years because of essential elements facilitating a consistent environment for learners. Three-dimensional (3D) environments have the potential to position the learner within a meaningful context to a much greater extent than traditional interactive multimedia environments. The term 3D environment has been chosen to focus on a particular type of virtual environment that makes use of a 3D model. 3D models are very useful to make acquainted students with features of different shapes and objects, and can be particularly useful in teaching younger students different procedures and mechanisms for carrying out specific tasks. This chapter explains that 3D Virtual Reality is mature enough to be used for enhancing communication of ideas and concepts and stimulate the interest of students compared to 2D education.

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Investigating the effect of bruxism on maxillary arch length and width in children using three-dimensional digital model analysis

Progress in Orthodontics ◽

10.1186/s40510-021-00396-y ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ebru Hazar Bodrumlu ◽

Fethiye Çakmak Özlü ◽

Hakan Yılmaz ◽

Levent Demiriz

Keyword(s):

Three Dimensional ◽

Study Groups ◽

Model Analysis ◽

Reference Points ◽

Digital Model ◽

Digital Models ◽

Study Results ◽

Insignificant Difference ◽

The Mean ◽

Maxillary Arch

Abstract Background Bruxism is defined as repetitive jaw-muscle activity characterized by the grinding and clenching of teeth. The prevalence of bruxism in children is extensive, and it can cause irregularities in dental arches. The study aimed to investigate the presence of any effects of bruxism on maxillary arch length and width in children using three-dimensional (3D) digital model analysis. Method This study evaluated 30 children with bruxism. For every child with bruxism, a case control without bruxism was selected and matched for gender, age, and dentition. Digital models of the patients’ maxilla were obtained with a 3D intraoral scanner, and width and length measurements between the reference points on the maxilla were obtained on the digital models. Results The mean age of the study group was 9.13 ± 1.27. Insıgnificance differences were found between females and males within and between groups in terms of maxillary width and length. Insignificant difference was found between the control and study groups when the lengths of 3R-3L, 4R-4L, 5R-5L, 6R-6L, and IP-M were compared (p > 0.05). Conclusion Based on the study results, there were no differences in the maxillary arch length and width in patients with bruxism and patients without bruxism.

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Effects of Transient Loss of Vision on Head and Eye Movements during Visual Search in a Virtual Environment

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci10110841 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 841

Author(s):

Erwan David ◽

Julia Beitner ◽

Melissa Le-Hoa Võ

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Visual Search ◽

Eye Movements ◽

Vision Loss ◽

Peripheral Vision ◽

Visual Stimulation ◽

Past Research ◽

Head Movements ◽

Field Of View ◽

The Impact

Central and peripheral fields of view extract information of different quality and serve different roles during visual tasks. Past research has studied this dichotomy on-screen in conditions remote from natural situations where the scene would be omnidirectional and the entire field of view could be of use. In this study, we had participants looking for objects in simulated everyday rooms in virtual reality. By implementing a gaze-contingent protocol we masked central or peripheral vision (masks of 6 deg. of radius) during trials. We analyzed the impact of vision loss on visuo-motor variables related to fixation (duration) and saccades (amplitude and relative directions). An important novelty is that we segregated eye, head and the general gaze movements in our analyses. Additionally, we studied these measures after separating trials into two search phases (scanning and verification). Our results generally replicate past on-screen literature and teach about the role of eye and head movements. We showed that the scanning phase is dominated by short fixations and long saccades to explore, and the verification phase by long fixations and short saccades to analyze. One finding indicates that eye movements are strongly driven by visual stimulation, while head movements serve a higher behavioral goal of exploring omnidirectional scenes. Moreover, losing central vision has a smaller impact than reported on-screen, hinting at the importance of peripheral scene processing for visual search with an extended field of view. Our findings provide more information concerning how knowledge gathered on-screen may transfer to more natural conditions, and attest to the experimental usefulness of eye tracking in virtual reality.

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Field-of-View Restriction to Reduce VR Sickness Does Not Impede Spatial Learning in Women

ACM Transactions on Applied Perception ◽

10.1145/3448304 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Isayas Berhe Adhanom ◽

Majed Al-Zayer ◽

Paul Macneilage ◽

Eelke Folmer

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Sex Differences ◽

Spatial Cognition ◽

Sex Difference ◽

Spatial Learning ◽

Spatial Navigation ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Field Of View ◽

Learning Ability ◽

Effective Strategy

Women are more likely to experience virtual reality (VR) sickness than men, which could pose a major challenge to the mass market success of VR. Because VR sickness often results from a visual-vestibular conflict, an effective strategy to mitigate conflict is to restrict the user’s field-of-view (FOV) during locomotion. Sex differences in spatial cognition have been well researched, with several studies reporting that men exhibit better spatial navigation performance in desktop three-dimensional environments than women. However, additional research suggests that this sex difference can be mitigated by providing a larger FOV as this increases the availability of landmarks, which women tend to rely on more than men. Though FOV restriction is already a widely used strategy for VR headsets to minimize VR sickness, it is currently not well understood if it impedes spatial learning in women due to decreased availability of landmarks. Our study (n=28, 14 men and 14 women) found that a dynamic FOV restrictor was equally effective in reducing VR sickness in both sexes, and no sex differences in VR sickness incidence were found. Our study did find a sex difference in spatial learning ability, but an FOV restrictor did not impede spatial learning in either sex.

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3D Virtual Learning Environment for Engineering Students

Virtual Learning Environments ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-0011-9.ch413 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 859-869

Author(s):

M. Valizadeh ◽

B. Noroozi ◽

G. A. Sorial

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Virtual Learning ◽

3D Models ◽

Essential Elements ◽

Virtual Learning Environment ◽

Meaningful Context ◽

3D Environments ◽

Different Shapes

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Moving foraging into three dimensions: Feature- versus conjunction-based foraging in virtual reality

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/1747021820937020 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 174702182093702

Author(s):

Tómas Kristjánsson ◽

Dejan Draschkow ◽

Ágúst Pálsson ◽

Davíð Haraldsson ◽

Pétur Örn Jónsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Visual Attention ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Bottom Part ◽

Human Attention ◽

Single Feature ◽

3D Environments ◽

Human Foraging ◽

Foraging Task

Visual attention evolved in a three-dimensional (3D) world, yet studies on human attention in three dimensions are sparse. Here we present findings from a human foraging study in immersive 3D virtual reality. We used a foraging task introduced in Kristjánsson et al. to examine how well their findings generalise to more naturalistic settings. The second goal was to examine what effect the motion of targets and distractors has on inter-target times (ITTs), run patterns, and foraging organisation. Observers foraged for 50 targets among 50 distractors in four different conditions. Targets were distinguished from distractors by either a single feature (feature foraging) or a conjunction of features (conjunction foraging). Furthermore, those conditions were performed both with static and moving targets and distractors. Our results replicate previous foraging studies in many aspects, with constant ITTs during a “cruise-phase” within foraging trials and response time peaks at the end of foraging trials. Some key differences emerged, however, such as more frequent switches between target types during conjunction foraging than previously seen and a lack of clear mid-peaks during conjunction foraging, possibly reflecting that differences between feature and conjunction processing are smaller within 3D environments. Observers initiated their foraging in the bottom part of the visual field and motion did not have much of an effect on selection times between different targets (ITTs) or run behaviour patterns except for the end-peaks. Our results cast new light upon visual attention in 3D environments and highlight how 3D virtual reality studies can provide important extensions to two-dimensional studies of visual attention.

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Moving foraging into 3D: Feature versus conjunction-based foraging in virtual reality

10.31219/osf.io/fh9zt ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Arni Kristjansson ◽

Dejan Draschkow ◽

Tómas Kristjansson ◽

Ágúst Pálsson ◽

Pétur Örn Jónsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Visual Attention ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Bottom Part ◽

Human Attention ◽

Single Feature ◽

3D Environments ◽

Human Foraging ◽

Foraging Task

Visual attention evolved in a three-dimensional world, yet studies on human attention in three- dimensions are sparse. Here we present findings from a human foraging study in immersive three-dimensional virtual reality. We used a foraging task introduced in Kristjánsson et al. (2014) to examine how well their findings generalize to more naturalistic settings. A second goal was to examine what effect the motion of targets and distractors has on intertarget times, run patterns and foraging organization. Observers foraged for 50 targets among 50 distractors in four different conditions. Targets were distinguished from distractors by either a single feature (feature foraging) or a conjunction of features (conjunction foraging). Further, those conditions were performed both with static and moving targets and distractors. Our results replicate previous foraging studies in many aspects, with constant intertarget times during a “cruise-phase” within foraging trials and response time peaks at the end of foraging trials. Some key differences emerged, however, such as more frequent switches between target types during conjunction foraging than previously seen and a lack of clear mid-peaks during conjunction foraging, possibly reflecting that differences between feature and conjunction processing are smaller within 3D environments. Observers initiated their foraging in the bottom part of the visual field and motion did not have much of an effect on selection times between different targets (intertarget times, ITT’s) or run behaviour patterns except for the end-peaks. Our results cast new light upon visual attention in three-dimensional environments and highlight how 3D virtual reality studies can provide important extensions to two-dimensional studies of visual attention.

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