Development of virtual reality (VR) system to evaluate human 3D spatial cognition [eye movements analysis]

Human 3D spatial cognition is the most crucial factor to evaluate Virtual Reality (VR) environments. In order to evaluate this property the authors observed an eye-movement to clarify the difference between a real environment and a virtual one (VR). The authors conducted a psychophysical experiment using three real objects (cube, wedge and pyramid). The task for a subject is to determine the kind of object which is presented in front of him. The latency and trajectory of eye-movement until the subject realized the object shape were measured by an Eye Mark Recorder (EMR 600 by NAC Co.). The shortest response time was observed in the case of the cubic object. Characteristics for the trajectory of eye-movement were as follows: (1) Scanning areas were not spread uniformly over the object. (2) Trajectories of eye-movement were rather concentrated on specific areas of the object such as edges and corners.