Effects of adding visual cues on distance estimation, presence and simulator sickness during virtual visits using wall screen

The Architectural Space Questionnaire (ASQ) was developed and employed in order to assess subjects' impressions of four different environments (two real and two virtual rooms) at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The ASQ consists of 18 adjectivepairs, arrayed in a 7-point, Likert scale format. Subjects first participated in avariety of distance estimation tasks in the Spacelab Payload Control Room and the Simulation Control Room and in their virtual reality (VR) analogs. After their experience in each room, subjects responded to the ASQ, selecting one value on each adjective pair continuum which best described their impression of the room they were in. The results indicated that the ASQ is sensitive to structural differences between real rooms. Differences between virtual rooms were minimal., possibly due to the absence of visual cues such as lighting and texture in that environment. Implications for the use of VR as a design tool are explored.

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Lateral optic flow does not influence distance estimation in the desert ant Cataglyphis fortis

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.203.7.1113 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 203 (7) ◽

pp. 1113-1121 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

B. Ronacher ◽

K. Gallizzi ◽

S. Wohlgemuth ◽

R. Wehner

Keyword(s):

Flow Field ◽

Optic Flow ◽

Visual Cues ◽

Food Source ◽

Motion Parallax ◽

Distance Estimation ◽

Desert Ants ◽

Desert Ant ◽

Walking Speeds ◽

Cataglyphis Fortis

The present account answers the question of whether desert ants (Cataglyphis fortis) gauge the distance they have travelled by using self-induced lateral optic-flow parameters, as has been described for bees. The ants were trained to run to a distant food source within a channel whose walls were covered with black-and-white gratings. From the food source, they were transferred to test channels of double or half the training width, and the distance they travelled before searching for home and their walking speeds were recorded. Since the animals experience different motion parallax cues when walking in the broader or narrower channels, the optic-flow hypothesis predicted that the ants would walk faster and further in the broader channels, but more slowly and less far in the narrower channels. In contrast to this expectation, neither the walking speeds nor the searching distances depended on the width or height of the channels or on the pattern wavelengths. Even when ventral-field visual cues were excluded by covering the eyes with light-tight paint, the ants were not influenced by lateral optic flow-field cues. Hence, walking desert ants do not depend on self-induced visual flow-field cues in gauging the distance they have travelled, as do flying honeybees, but can measure locomotor distance exclusively by idiothetic means.

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The Contributions of Static Visual Cues, Nonvisual Cues, and Optic Flow in Distance Estimation

Perception ◽

10.1068/p5145 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 49-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

Hong-Jin Sun ◽

Jennifer L Campos ◽

Meredith Young ◽

George S W Chan ◽

Colin G Ellard

Keyword(s):

Optic Flow ◽

Visual Cues ◽

Distance Estimation

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Judging Perceived and Traversed Distance in Virtual Environments

Presence Teleoperators & Virtual Environments ◽

10.1162/105474698565640 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 144-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 187

Author(s):

Bob G. Witmer ◽

Paul B. Kline

Keyword(s):

Virtual Environments ◽

Real World ◽

Visual Cues ◽

Large Scale ◽

Distance Estimation ◽

Movement Speed ◽

The Real ◽

Texture Density ◽

Route Segment ◽

Scale Spaces

The ability to accurately estimate distance is an essential component of navigating large-scale spaces. Although the factors that influence distance estimation have been a topic of research in real-world environments for decades and are well known, research on distance estimation in virtual environments (VEs) has only just begun. Initial investigations of distance estimation in VEs suggest that observers are less accurate in estimating distance in VEs than in the real world (Lampton et al., 1995). Factors influencing distance estimates may be divided into those affecting perceived distance (visual cues only) and those affecting traversed distance to include visual, cognitive, and proprioceptive cues. To assess the contribution of the various distance cues in VEs, two experiments were conducted. The first required a static observer to estimate the distance to a cylinder placed at various points along a 130-foot hallway. This experiment examined the effects of floor texture, floor pattern, and object size on distance estimates in a VE. The second experiment required a moving observer to estimate route segment distances and total route distances along four routes, each totaling 1210 feet. This experiment assessed the effects of movement method, movement speed, compensatory cues, and wall texture density. Results indicate that observers underestimate distances both in VEs and in the real world, but the underestimates are more extreme in VEs. Texture did not reliably affect the distance estimates, providing no compensation for the gross underestimates of distance in VE. Traversing a distance improves the ability to estimate that distance, but more natural means of moving via a treadmill do not necessarily improve distance estimates over traditional methods of moving in VE (e.g., using a joystick). The addition of compensatory cues (tone every 10 feet traversed on alternate route segments) improves VE distance estimation to almost perfect performance.

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Distance Estimation in Reproduction Tasks in a Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)

Water ◽

10.3390/w13070938 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 938

Author(s):

Eric Maaß ◽

Frederike D. Hanke

Keyword(s):

Visual Information ◽

Path Integration ◽

Visual Cues ◽

Distance Estimation ◽

Harbor Seal ◽

Phoca Vitulina ◽

Harbor Seals ◽

Experimental Paradigm ◽

Feeding Grounds ◽

Specific Distance

Harbor seals commute between haul-out places and feeding grounds close to the shore or in the open ocean, which is considered a low structured environment, at first sight not providing many cues for orientation/navigation. Nevertheless, seals are well-oriented. For returning to a specific location, seals may use both external and internal cues to, for example, perform path integration requiring the integration of distances traveled and angles steered. We herein assessed the seal’s ability to estimate distances, previously swum or unknown, in reproduction tasks. Reproduction tasks refer to an experimental paradigm in which the experimental animal is required to swim a specific distance first and subsequently reproduce this distance, with visual cues present or absent. The seal was able to estimate and then reproduce distances (0.5–18.5 m) with the smallest error below 10% of the actual distance, and its precision was higher with distances repeatedly swum compared to its performance with unfamiliar distances. In the absence of visual cues, the seal’s performance slightly dropped; however, it was still able to perform the task with an error of 21%. In conclusion, distance estimation may help seals to navigate precisely towards their goals, even if, for example, visual information is not available.

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The response of Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta) to the playback of undegraded and degraded songs

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z84-308 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 62 (11) ◽

pp. 2125-2128 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Peter K. McGregor ◽

J. Bruce Falls

Keyword(s):

Visual Cues ◽

Distance Estimation ◽

Mechanism Of Degradation ◽

The Difference ◽

Sturnella Neglecta ◽

Test Bird

Male Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta) respond more strongly to playback of undegraded songs than degraded songs when both are played at the same amplitude and from the same position in the territory. The difference in response is only found if the song played is of a type that is sung by the test bird. These results support the use of cues from sound degradation to estimate distance; they also support a mechanism of degradation assessment which requires familiarity with the stimulus. We discuss the role of acoustic and visual cues in distance estimation and the significance of our results for a proposed function of song matching.

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The contributions of nonvisual cues, static visual cues, and optic flow in distance estimation

Journal of Vision ◽

10.1167/3.9.781 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 3 (9) ◽

pp. 781-781

Author(s):

J. L Campos ◽

M. Young ◽

G. S. Chan ◽

D.-H. Zhang ◽

C. G Ellard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Optic Flow ◽

Visual Cues ◽

Distance Estimation

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Evaluation of visual cues of three-dimensional virtual environments for helicopter simulators

The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation Applications Methodology Technology ◽

10.1177/1548512911422240 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 347-360

Author(s):

Yasemin Çetin ◽

Erdal Yılmaz ◽

Yasemin Yardımcı Çetin

Keyword(s):

Visual Cues ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Distance Estimation ◽

3D Object ◽

3D Objects ◽

Helicopter Flight ◽

Flight Simulators ◽

Computer Based ◽

Low Altitude ◽

Military Pilots

Visual cues are an essential part of helicopter flight simulators. The required cues for hover are particularly large, due to closeness to the ground and small movements. However, the research on low-altitude helicopter flight is limited. In this research, the density and height of the three-dimensional (3D) objects in the scene are analysed to find their effect on hovering and low-altitude helicopter flight. An experiment is conducted using a personal computer-based flight simulator on 10 professional military pilots. The results revealed that 3D object density and 3D object height affect both horizontal and vertical hovering performance. In hover and low-altitude flight, altitude control is positively affected by smaller object height. Paradoxically, the pilots preferred the scenes composed of tall and mixture objects. Pilot distance estimation was significantly affected by the knowledge of both object density and object height, but these factors do not individually improve distance estimation.

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Supporting the Use of Rudimentary Vocalizations

Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication ◽

10.1044/aac23.3.132 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 132-139 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lauren Zubow ◽

Richard Hurtig

Keyword(s):

Rett Syndrome ◽

Visual Cues ◽

Acoustic Analysis ◽

Eye Gaze ◽

Research Question ◽

Primary Research ◽

Multiple Modalities ◽

Face To Face ◽

Perceptual Judgments ◽

The Face

Children with Rett Syndrome (RS) are reported to use multiple modalities to communicate although their intentionality is often questioned (Bartolotta, Zipp, Simpkins, & Glazewski, 2011; Hetzroni & Rubin, 2006; Sigafoos et al., 2000; Sigafoos, Woodyatt, Tuckeer, Roberts-Pennell, & Pittendreigh, 2000). This paper will present results of a study analyzing the unconventional vocalizations of a child with RS. The primary research question addresses the ability of familiar and unfamiliar listeners to interpret unconventional vocalizations as “yes” or “no” responses. This paper will also address the acoustic analysis and perceptual judgments of these vocalizations. Pre-recorded isolated vocalizations of “yes” and “no” were presented to 5 listeners (mother, father, 1 unfamiliar, and 2 familiar clinicians) and the listeners were asked to rate the vocalizations as either “yes” or “no.” The ratings were compared to the original identification made by the child's mother during the face-to-face interaction from which the samples were drawn. Findings of this study suggest, in this case, the child's vocalizations were intentional and could be interpreted by familiar and unfamiliar listeners as either “yes” or “no” without contextual or visual cues. The results suggest that communication partners should be trained to attend to eye-gaze and vocalizations to ensure the child's intended choice is accurately understood.

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