Can Retinal Projection Displays Improve Spatial Perception in Augmented Reality?

Abstract

Figure 1: Overview of the experimental setup. The participant had his head on a chinrest and was able to see virtual elements with an OST device or a RPD. He was asked to point a target (virtual or real) with his finger (wearing a tracked ring). The frame was covered by white panels to prevent the participant from seeing his hand. (Here, one panel is transparent for illustration purpose).

When virtual and real worlds coexist: Visualization and visual system affect spatial performance in augmented reality

“…Thus, display's inability to produce accurate focus cues at different viewing distances is a problem for the visual system to solve because it disturbs the normal coupling of vergence and accommodation. The resultant conflicts between binocular and focus cues can be associated with discrepancies in spatial perception ( Condino, Carbone, Piazza, Ferrari, & Ferrari, 2020 ; Peillard, Argelaguet, Normand, Lécuyer, & Moreau, 2020 ). New visualization approaches, such as multifocal, varifocal, and holographic displays, aim to mitigate or eliminate this issue ( Rolland, Krueger, & Goon, 2000 ; Huang & Hua, 2018 ; Zabels, Osmanis, Narels, Gertners, Ozols, Rutenbergs, & Osmanis, 2019 ; Zhan, Xiong, Zou, & Wu, 2020 ).…”

“…New visualization approaches, such as multifocal, varifocal, and holographic displays, aim to mitigate or eliminate this issue ( Rolland, Krueger, & Goon, 2000 ; Huang & Hua, 2018 ; Zabels, Osmanis, Narels, Gertners, Ozols, Rutenbergs, & Osmanis, 2019 ; Zhan, Xiong, Zou, & Wu, 2020 ). Nevertheless, the actual user gain remains difficult to predict due to high interindividual variability and lack of agreement in perceptual studies on whether consistency of binocular and focus cues is a mandatory requirement for accurate spatial judgments in augmented reality ( Watt, Akeley, Ernst, & Banks, 2005 ; Hoffman, Girshick, Akeley, & Banks, 2008 ; Naceri, Chellali, & Hoinville, 2011 ; Peillard et al, 2019 ; Erkelens & MacKenzie, 2020 ; Peillard, Itoh, Normand, Argelaguet, Moreau, & Lecuer, 2020 ; Gao, Peillard, Normand, Moreau, Liu, & Wang, 2020 ). Here, we describe how the consistency of binocular and focus cues impacts distance matching between physical objects and images in stereoscopic augmented reality, and how useful vision screening may be for predicting the extent to which the user would benefit from the implementation of new technology.…”

“…It can be achieved in different ways, for instance, by using beam splitters to superimpose images ( Akeley et al, 2004 ) or high-speed switchable lenses to change the optical distance of the image plane ( Love et al, 2009 ). Despite the availability of such displays, there is still no clear evidence that they have a positive impact on user performance in terms of spatial perception in comparison to conventional visualization systems ( Peillard et al, 2020 ) due to a lack of corresponding research and the amount of controversy in the rapidly developing understanding of human factors.…”

“…However, recent experimental findings appear to challenge this suggestion. For instance, spatial judgments were not compromised when the concordant focus cues were lacking due to the technical aspects of the display, viewing condition, or age-related specifics of vision ( Singh, Ellis, & Swan, 2018 ; Condino et al, 2020 ; Peillard et al, 2020 ). Images with conflicting binocular and focus cues were considered clearer than digital content presented without the cues conflict ( Erkelens & MacKenzie, 2020 ).…”

“…Adding a consistent accommodation cue to an image even resulted in impaired performance for some individuals ( Linton, 2020 ). Consequently, the importance of appropriate focus cues for precise spatial judgments in the binocular viewing of digital information remains questionable ( Langer & Siciliano, 2015 ; Maiello, Chessa, Solari, & Bex, 2015 ; Schmidt, Bruder, & Steinicke, 2017 ; Rogers, 2019 ; Linton, 2020 ; Peillard et al, 2020 ). Overestimation because of a mismatch between binocular and focus cues in near space.…”