Perceiving distance in virtual reality: theoretical insights from contemporary technologies

Abstract

Decades of research have shown that absolute egocentric distance is underestimated in virtual environments (VEs) when compared with the real world. This finding has implications on the use of VEs for applications that require an accurate sense of absolute scale. Fortunately, this underperception of scale can be attenuated by several factors, making perception more similar to (but still not the same as) that of the real world. Here, we examine these factors as two categories: (i) experience inherent to the observer, and (ii) characteristics inherent to the display technology. We analyse how these factors influence the sources of information for absolute distance perception with the goal of understanding how the scale of virtual spaces is calibrated. We identify six types of cues that change with these approaches, contributing both to a theoretical understanding of depth perception in VEs and a call for future research that can benefit from changing technologies. This article is part of the theme issue 'New approaches to 3D vision'.

Keywords: distance perception; virtual reality; visual cues.

Figure 1.

An avatar seen from a first-person and mirrored perspective (a) with tracked movements through hand-held controllers (b). (Online version in colour.)

Figure 2.

The egocentric distance d from an observer to a target resting on the ground is expressed in terms of eyeheight h by the formula $d=h\cot \theta$, where θ is the angle of declination from the horizon. (Online version in colour.)

Figure 3.

Reduced FOV of the HMD limits the environmental context that is visible without scanning (b) compared to the larger FOVs of contemporary HMDs (a). (Online version in colour.)

Figure 4.

A model of how experience and technology influence six types of cues to calibrate the perception of absolute scale in virtual environments. (Online version in colour.)