The effects of artificially reduced field of view and peripheral frame stimulation on distance judgments in HMDs

Abstract

Numerous studies have reported underestimated egocentric distances in virtual environments through head-mounted displays (HMDs). However, it has been found that distance judgments made through Oculus Rift HMDs are much less compressed, and their relatively high device field of view (FOV) may play an important role. Some studies showed that applying constant white light in viewers' peripheral vision improved their distance judgments through HMDs. In this study, we examine the effects of the device FOV and the peripheral vision by performing a blind walking experiment through an Oculus Rift DK2 HMD with three different conditions. For the BlackFrame condition, we rendered a rectangular black frame to reduce the device field of view of the DK2 HMD to match an NVIS nVisor ST60 HMD. In the WhiteFrame and GreyFrame conditions, we changed the frame color to solid white and middle grey. From the results, we found that the distance judgments made through the black frame were significantly underestimated relative to the WhiteFrame condition. However, no significant differences were observed between the WhiteFrame and GreyFrame conditions. This result provides evidence that the device FOV and peripheral light could influence distance judgments in HMDs, and the degree of influence might not change proportionally with respect to the peripheral light brightness.