scholarly journals A Case for Studying Naturalistic Eye and Head Movements in Virtual Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloe Callahan-Flintoft ◽  
Christian Barentine ◽  
Jonathan Touryan ◽  
Anthony J. Ries
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Head Tracking ◽  
Tracking Data ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Head Mounted Displays

Using head mounted displays (HMDs) in conjunction with virtual reality (VR), vision researchers are able to capture more naturalistic vision in an experimentally controlled setting. Namely, eye movements can be accurately tracked as they occur in concert with head movements as subjects navigate virtual environments. A benefit of this approach is that, unlike other mobile eye tracking (ET) set-ups in unconstrained settings, the experimenter has precise control over the location and timing of stimulus presentation, making it easier to compare findings between HMD studies and those that use monitor displays, which account for the bulk of previous work in eye movement research and vision sciences more generally. Here, a visual discrimination paradigm is presented as a proof of concept to demonstrate the applicability of collecting eye and head tracking data from an HMD in VR for vision research. The current work’s contribution is 3-fold: firstly, results demonstrating both the strengths and the weaknesses of recording and classifying eye and head tracking data in VR, secondly, a highly flexible graphical user interface (GUI) used to generate the current experiment, is offered to lower the software development start-up cost of future researchers transitioning to a VR space, and finally, the dataset analyzed here of behavioral, eye and head tracking data synchronized with environmental variables from a task specifically designed to elicit a variety of eye and head movements could be an asset in testing future eye movement classification algorithms.

scholarly journals Correcting Drift, Head and Body Misalignments between Virtual and Real Humans

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Vitor Reus ◽  
Márcio Mello ◽  
Luciana Nedel ◽  
Anderson Maciel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Inertial Sensors ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Head Tracking ◽  
Desktop Computer ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Incremental Information ◽  
Ms Kinect ◽  
Head Rotations

Head-mounted displays (HMD) allow a personal and immersive viewing of virtual environments, and can be used with almost any desktop computer. Most HMDs have inertial sensors embedded for tracking the user head rotations. These low-cost sensors have high quality and availability. However, even if they are very sensitive and precise, inertial sensors work with incremental information, easily introducing errors in the system. The most relevant is that head tracking suffers from drifting. In this paper we present important limitations that still prevent the wide use of inertial sensors for tracking. For instance, to compensate for the drifting, users of HMD-based immersive VEs move away from their suitable pose. We also propose a software solution for two problems: prevent the occurrence of drifting in incremental sensors, and avoid the user from move its body in relation to another tracking system that uses absolute sensors (e.g. MS Kinect). We analyze and evaluate our solutions experimentally, including user tests. Results show that our comfortable pose function is effective on eliminating drifting, and that it can be inverted and applied also to prevent the user from moving their body away of the absolute sensor range. The efficiency and accuracy of this method makes it suitable for a number of applications in immersive VR.

Amplifying Head Movements with Head-Mounted Displays

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Jay ◽  
Roger Hubbold
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Visual Search Task ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Human Vision ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Normal Human ◽  
Virtual Display

The head-mounted display (HMD) is a popular form of virtual display due to its ability to immerse users visually in virtual environments (VEs). Unfortunately, the user's virtual experience is compromised by the narrow field of view (FOV) it affords, which is less than half that of normal human vision. This paper explores a solution to some of the problems caused by the narrow FOV by amplifying the head movement made by the user when wearing an HMD, so that the view direction changes by a greater amount in the virtual world than it does in the real world. Tests conducted on the technique show a significant improvement in performance on a visual search task, and questionnaire data indicate that the altered visual parameters that the user receives may be preferable to those in the baseline condition in which amplification of movement was not implemented. The tests also show that the user cannot interact normally with the VE if corresponding body movements are not amplified to the same degree as head movements, which may limit the implementation's versatility. Although not suitable for every application, the technique shows promise, and alterations to aspects of the implementation could extend its use in the future.

scholarly journals Virtual memory palaces: immersion aids recall

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Krokos ◽  
Catherine Plaisant ◽  
Amitabh Varshney
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Memory ◽  
Memory Recall ◽  
Head Tracking ◽  
Spatial Awareness ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Salient Features ◽  
Superior Memory

Abstract Virtual reality displays, such as head-mounted displays (HMD), afford us a superior spatial awareness by leveraging our vestibular and proprioceptive senses, as compared to traditional desktop displays. Since classical times, people have used memory palaces as a spatial mnemonic to help remember information by organizing it spatially and associating it with salient features in that environment. In this paper, we explore whether using virtual memory palaces in a head-mounted display with head-tracking (HMD condition) would allow a user to better recall information than when using a traditional desktop display with a mouse-based interaction (desktop condition). We found that virtual memory palaces in HMD condition provide a superior memory recall ability compared to the desktop condition. We believe this is a first step in using virtual environments for creating more memorable experiences that enhance productivity through better recall of large amounts of information organized using the idea of virtual memory palaces.

Activity of medial vestibulospinal tract cells during rotation and ocular movement in the alert squirrel monkey

1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 2176-2180 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Squirrel Monkey ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Vestibular Nuclei ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Head Tracking ◽  
Horizontal Semicircular Canal ◽  
Horizontal Canal ◽  
Head Velocity ◽  
Vestibulospinal Tract

1. Chronic unit and eye movement recording and microstimulation techniques were used to study the discharge properties of identified medial vestibulospinal tract (MVST) cells in the alert squirrel monkey. MVST cells were antidromically activated from the ventromedial funiculus at C1 and responded to orthodromic stimulation of the ipsilateral VIIIth nerve (Vi) at mono- or disynaptic latencies. Cell discharges were examined during imposed sinusoidal yaw rotation to activate horizontal semicircular canal afferents and during voluntary ocular pursuit and fixation of visual targets with the head held stationary. 2. MVST cells represented 15% (22 of 147 cells) of the population of horizontal canal-related cells recorded in the vestibular nuclei. Twelve MVST cells were monosynaptically related to Vi; of these cells, 7 (58%) were characterized as ipsilateral eye and head velocity, having a discharge modulation related to the velocity of both ipsilaterally directed eye movement and yaw rotation, and 3 also had an ipsilateral eye position sensitivity. Most (8 of 10, 80%) MVST cells disynaptically related to Vi responded only to contralateral head velocity; the other 2 cells carried a combined contralateral head and ipsilateral eye movement signal. A pause or burst of discharge associated with fast or saccadic eye movements made in any direction was not present on the 22 MVST cells. 3. The MVST is an output pathway of the vestibular nuclei through which the labyrinth controls reflex head movements. The results show that MVST cells transmit the movement and position of eyes in orbit, with vestibular signals, to the cervical spinal cord and suggest that the MVST may play a dynamic role in voluntary gaze stabilization and eye/head tracking.

Head tracking latency in virtual environments: Psychophysics and a model

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard D. Adelstein ◽  
Thomas G. Lee ◽  
Stephen R. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Head Tracking

scholarly journals Immersive Gesture Interfaces for Navigation of 3D Maps in HMD-Based Mobile Virtual Environments

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yea Som Lee ◽  
Bong-Soo Sohn
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
User Study ◽  
Simple Algorithm ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Depth Camera ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Head Mounted Displays ◽  
Gesture Interfaces ◽  
High Level

3D maps such as Google Earth and Apple Maps (3D mode), in which users can see and navigate in 3D models of real worlds, are widely available in current mobile and desktop environments. Users usually use a monitor for display and a keyboard/mouse for interaction. Head-mounted displays (HMDs) are currently attracting great attention from industry and consumers because they can provide an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience at an affordable cost. However, conventional keyboard and mouse interfaces decrease the level of immersion because the manipulation method does not resemble actual actions in reality, which often makes the traditional interface method inappropriate for the navigation of 3D maps in virtual environments. From this motivation, we design immersive gesture interfaces for the navigation of 3D maps which are suitable for HMD-based virtual environments. We also describe a simple algorithm to capture and recognize the gestures in real-time using a Kinect depth camera. We evaluated the usability of the proposed gesture interfaces and compared them with conventional keyboard and mouse-based interfaces. Results of the user study indicate that our gesture interfaces are preferable for obtaining a high level of immersion and fun in HMD-based virtual environments.

scholarly journals Temporal Interactions of Air-Puff–Evoked Blinks and Saccadic Eye Movements: Insights Into Motor Preparation

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 1718-1729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neeraj J. Gandhi ◽  
Desiree K. Bonadonna
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Saccade Latency ◽  
Sensory Response ◽  
Temporal Interactions

Following the initial, sensory response to stimulus presentation, activity in many saccade-related burst neurons along the oculomotor neuraxis is observed as a gradually increasing low-frequency discharge hypothesized to encode both timing and metrics of the impending eye movement. When the activity reaches an activation threshold level, these cells discharge a high-frequency burst, inhibit the pontine omnipause neurons (OPNs) and trigger a high-velocity eye movement known as saccade. We tested whether early cessation of OPN activity, prior to when it ordinarily pauses, acts to effectively lower the threshold and prematurely trigger a movement of modified metrics and/or dynamics. Relying on the observation that OPN discharge ceases during not only saccades but also blinks, air-puffs were delivered to one eye to evoke blinks as monkeys performed standard oculomotor tasks. We observed a linear relationship between blink and saccade onsets when the blink occurred shortly after the cue to initiate the movement but before the average reaction time. Blinks that preceded and overlapped with the cue increased saccade latency. Blinks evoked during the overlap period of the delayed saccade task, when target location is known but a saccade cannot be initiated for correct performance, failed to trigger saccades prematurely. Furthermore, when saccade and blink execution coincided temporally, the peak velocity of the eye movement was attenuated, and its initial velocity was correlated with its latency. Despite the perturbations, saccade accuracy was maintained across all blink times and task types. Collectively, these results support the notion that temporal features of the low-frequency activity encode aspects of a premotor command and imply that inhibition of OPNs alone is not sufficient to trigger saccades.

Rapid horizontal gaze movement in the monkey

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 1632-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. O. Phillips ◽  
L. Ling ◽  
A. F. Fuchs ◽  
C. Siebold ◽  
J. J. Plorde
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Head Movement ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Head Position ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Gaze Shifts ◽  
Gaze Shift ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Small Correction ◽  
Horizontal Gaze

1. We studied horizontal eye and head movements in three monkeys that were trained to direct their gaze (eye position in space) toward jumping targets while their heads were both fixed and free to rotate about a vertical axis. We considered all gaze movements that traveled > or = 80% of the distance to the new visual target. 2. The relative contributions and metrics of eye and head movements to the gaze shift varied considerably from animal to animal and even within animals. Head movements could be initiated early or late and could be large or small. The eye movements of some monkeys showed a consistent decrease in velocity as the head accelerated, whereas others did not. Although all gaze shifts were hypometric, they were more hypometric in some monkeys than in others. Nevertheless, certain features of the gaze shift were identifiable in all monkeys. To identify those we analyzed gaze, eye in head position, and head position, and their velocities at three points in time during the gaze shift: 1) when the eye had completed its initial rotation toward the target, 2) when the initial gaze shift had landed, and 3) when the head movement was finished. 3. For small gaze shifts (< 20 degrees) the initial gaze movement consisted entirely of an eye movement because the head did not move. As gaze shifts became larger, the eye movement contribution saturated at approximately 30 degrees and the head movement contributed increasingly to the initial gaze movement. For the largest gaze shifts, the eye usually began counterrolling or remained stable in the orbit before gaze landed. During the interval between eye and gaze end, the head alone carried gaze to completion. Finally, when the head movement landed, it was almost aimed at the target and the eye had returned to within 10 +/- 7 degrees, mean +/- SD, of straight ahead. Between the end of the gaze shift and the end of the head movement, gaze remained stable in space or a small correction saccade occurred. 4. Gaze movements < 20 degrees landed accurately on target whether the head was fixed or free. For larger target movements, both head-free and head-fixed gaze shifts became increasingly hypometric. Head-free gaze shifts were more accurate, on average, but also more variable. This suggests that gaze is controlled in a different way with the head free. For target amplitudes < 60 degrees, head position was hypometric but the error was rather constant at approximately 10 degrees.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals A Welcome to the New Journal, Journal of Advanced Therapies and Medical Innovation Science (j.ATAMIS).

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Coats ◽  
Louise Shewan
Keyword(s):  
Venture Capital ◽  
Medical Devices ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
The Other ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Medical Innovation ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Advanced Therapies ◽  
Publishing Journal

<p>A new journal has been launched by Barcaray Publishing: Journal of Advanced Therapies and Medical Innovation Sciences (J.ATAMIS, www.j-atamis.org).  This journal fills a crucial gap in the literature – and in the cycle of advances in medical science, therapeutics and devices - covering the pipeline from idea through proof of concept studies and start-up funding to regulatory approval.  It will be multi-disciplinary and unusually we will have significant input from funders - both angel and venture capital-, start-up CEO’s, and regulators as well as medical scientists and triallists.  We have quite frankly a stellar editorial board, with leading lights of biotechnology, medical devices, new and established pharma as well as the “other side”, CEO’s and investors.  </p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document