Effects of Frame of Reference and Viewing Condition on Attentional Issues with Helmet Mounted Displays

Abstract : Presentation of information using an helmet mounted display (HMD) allows users to view the world through a visor or eyepiece, on which additional data relevant to the task performed, can be superimposed onto the forward field of view. In the research presented here, the issues of frame of reference and viewing condition (i.e., one eye versus two) are examined in order to determine their effects on tasks of focused and divided attention. Superimposing information from the near domain onto the far domain eliminates scan time and prevents eye accommodation when switching between the near and far domains, but these benefits may be offset by the cost of increasing the amount of clutter in the forward field of view. For HMDs, the issue of frame of reference involves a comparison of world-referenced displays, in which information is displayed so that it is slaved to the momentary orientation of the head, with screen-referenced, such that the location of objects on the display is based on a pre-determined set of x- and y-coordinates, independent of head movement. Additionally, HMDs can be configured so that information is displayed to monoscopically or stereoscopically to one eye or two. In the current experiment, sixteen subjects (8 civilian, 8 military) viewed static two-dimensional renderings of three-dimensional images depicting hilly terrain, in which targets consisting of tanks, soldiers, land mines, and nuclear devices were hidden.

[1]  Peter A. Hancock,et al.  Navigation in virtual environments , 1996, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[2]  Ruth Kimchi,et al.  Flying with Dichoptic Displays: The Interplay between Display Characteristics and Attention Control , 1992 .

[3]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Virtual Reality Features of Frame of Reference and Display Dimensionality with Stereopsis: Their Effects on Scientific Visualization. , 1995 .

[4]  Jun Rekimoto.  A vision-based head tracker for fish tank virtual reality-VR without head gear , 1995, Proceedings Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium '95.

[5]  Scott Stevens Fisher,et al.  Viewpoint Dependent Imaging: An Interactive Stereoscopic Display , 1983, Optics & Photonics.

[6]  S. Ellis.  Pictorial communication in virtual and real environments , 1991 .

[7]  Ryutarou Ohbuchi,et al.  Merging virtual objects with the real world: seeing ultrasound imagery within the patient , 1992, SIGGRAPH.

[8]  D.P. Miller.  Evaluation of vision systems for teleoperated land vehicles , 1988, IEEE Control Systems Magazine.

[9]  Douglas E. McGovern,et al.  Experience and results in teleoperation of land vehicles , 1991 .

[10]  Helen J. Dudfield,et al.  Human factors issues in the design of helmet-mounted displays , 1995, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[11]  W. Barfield,et al.  Visualizing the structure of virtual objects using head tracked stereoscopic displays , 1997, Proceedings of IEEE 1997 Annual International Symposium on Virtual Reality.

[12]  Thomas A. Furness,et al.  Spatial perception in virtual environments: Evaluating an architectural application , 1993, Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[13]  P Milgram,et al.  Effects of Stereoscopic and Rotational Displays in a Three-Dimensional Path- Tracing Task , 1993, Human factors.

[14]  R. F. Haines,et al.  Cognitive issues in head-up displays , 1980 .

[15]  R. Blake,et al.  Further developments in binocular summation , 1981, Perception & psychophysics.

[16]  Larry F. Hodges,et al.  Human stereopsis, fusion, and stereoscopic virtual environments , 1995 .

[17]  James B. Sampson,et al.  Cognitive Performance of Individuals Using a Head—Mounted Display While Walking , 1993 .

[18]  John M. Reising,et al.  A Comparison of a Stereographic 3-D Display versus a 2-D Display Using an Advanced Air-to-Air Format , 1988 .

[19]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  Quantitative Evaluation of Perspective and Stereoscopic Displays in Three-Axis Manual Tracking Tasks , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[20]  J. M. NAISH,et al.  Combination of Information in Superimposed Visual Fields , 1964, Nature.

[21]  C. Eriksen,et al.  Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task , 1974 .

[22]  David C. Foyle,et al.  Attentional Issues with Superimposed Symbology: Formats for Scene-Linked Displays , 1995 .

[23]  Ross L. Pepper,et al.  Research Issues Involved In Applying Stereoscopic Television To Remotely Operated Vehicles , 1983, Other Conferences.

[24]  Eric E. Geiselman,et al.  Utility of off-boresight helmet-mounted symbology during a high-angle airborne target acquisition task , 1994, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[25]  Stephen R. Ellis,et al.  What are virtual environments? , 1994, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[26]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Superimposition, Symbology, Visual Attention, and the Head-Up Display , 1997, Hum. Factors.

[27]  Steven Todd,et al.  Three-Dimensional Displays: Perception, Implementation, and Applications , 1989 .

[28]  Michael McKenna,et al.  Interactive viewpoint control and three-dimensional operations , 1992, I3D '92.

[29]  Maxwell J. Wells,et al.  The Effect of Field-of-View Size on Performance of a Simulated Air-to-Ground Night Attack, , 1991 .

[30]  Robert G. Eggleston,et al.  Virtual reality system effects on size-distance judgements in a virtual environment , 1996, Proceedings of the IEEE 1996 Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[31]  James W. Lasswell.  The Effects of Display Location and Dimensionality on Taxiway Navigation. , 1995 .

[32]  Kellogg S. Booth,et al.  Evaluating 3D task performance for fish tank virtual worlds , 1993, TOIS.

[33]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Cognitive issues in virtual reality , 1995 .

[34]  S. Yantis.  Multielement visual tracking: Attention and perceptual organization , 1992, Cognitive Psychology.

[35]  J. Duncan.  Selective attention and the organization of visual information. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[36]  Stephen R. Ellis,et al.  Exocentric Judgements in Real Environments and Stereoscopic Displays , 1991 .

[37]  Steven K. Feiner,et al.  Knowledge-based augmented reality , 1993, CACM.

[38]  Warren S. Torgerson,et al.  A Comparison of Monocular, Biocular, and Binocular Night Vision Goggles for Traversing Off-Road Terrain on Foot. , 1995 .

[39]  W Barfield,et al.  Situation awareness as a function of frame of reference, computer-graphics eyepoint elevation, and geometric field of view. , 1995, The International journal of aviation psychology.

[40]  Daniel Gopher,et al.  Training head movement in visual scanning: An embedded approach to the development of piloting skills with helmet-mounted displays , 1997 .

[41]  R. Becklen,et al.  Selective looking and the noticing of unexpected events , 1983 .

[42]  Dennis Proffitt,et al.  Quantifying immersion in virtual reality , 1997, SIGGRAPH.

[43]  Walter W. Johnson,et al.  Stereo effectiveness evaluation for precision hover tasks in a helmet-mounted display simulator , 1992, [Proceedings] 1992 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[44]  David Drascic,et al.  Skill Acquisition and Task Performance in Teleoperation Using Monoscopic and Stereoscopic Video Remote Viewing , 1991 .

[45]  Woodrow Barfield,et al.  The sense of presence and performance within virtual environments as a function of headtracking and stereopsis , 1995 .

[46]  Frank Biocca,et al.  Quantification of adaptation to virtual-eye location in see-thru head-mounted displays , 1995, Proceedings Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium '95.

[47]  Patricia A. May,et al.  The Role of Visual Attention in Head-Up Displays: Design Implications for Varying Symbology Intensity , 1995 .

[48]  A. Kramer,et al.  Perceptual organization and focused attention: The role of objects and proximity in visual processing , 1991, Perception & psychophysics.

[49]  Woodrow Barfield,et al.  Augmented-reality displays , 1995 .

[50]  Rena A. Conejo.  The Effects of Highlighting, Validity, and Feature Type on Air-to-Ground Target Acquisition Performance. , 1998 .

[51]  Kirk Moffitt.  Ocular Responses To Monocular And Binocular Helmet-Mounted Display Configurations , 1989, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[52]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  The Vertical Visual Field and Implications for the Head-Up Display , 1992 .

[53]  Rich Gossweiler,et al.  Virtual Reality on Five Dollars a Day , 1991 .

[54]  Warren S. Torgerson,et al.  Human Off-Road Mobility, Preference, and Target-Detection Performance with Monocular, Biocular, and Binocular Night Vision Goggles. , 1996 .

[55]  Richard F. Haines,et al.  Head-Up Display (HUD) Utility, II: Runway to Hud Transitions Monitoring Eye Focus and Decision Times , 1985 .

[56]  Beverly D. Sanford,et al.  Attentional issues in superimposed flight symbology , 1991 .

[57]  Ross L. Pepper,et al.  Stereo TV Improves Operator Performance Under Degraded Visibility Conditions , 1981 .

[58]  Stephen R. Ellis,et al.  Judged Distance to Virtual Objects in the near Visual Field , 1995 .

[59]  Eric E. Geiselman,et al.  Attitude Maintenance Using an Off-Boresight Helmet-Mounted Virtual Display , 1991 .

[60]  Woodrow Barfield,et al.  Presence in virtual environments as a function of visual and auditory cues , 1995, Proceedings Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium '95.

[61]  Bernard D. Adelstein,et al.  Factors influencing operator interaction with virtual objects viewed via head-mounted see-through displays: viewing conditions and rendering latency , 1997, Proceedings of IEEE 1997 Annual International Symposium on Virtual Reality.

[62]  L. Kaufman,et al.  Handbook of perception and human performance , 1986 .

[63]  J. G. Hollands,et al.  Engineering Psychology and Human Performance , 1984 .

[64]  David C. Foyle,et al.  Scene-Linked Symbology to Improve Situation Awareness , 1996 .

[65]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  ALLOCATION OF ATTENTION WITH HEAD-UP DISPLAYS , 1998 .

[66]  W H Teichner,et al.  Visual Search for Complex Targets , 1979, Human factors.

[67]  C. Larry,et al.  The Effects of Pilot Age, Lighting, and Head-Down Time on Visual Accommodation , 1979 .

[68]  Frank L. Kooi.  Binocular configurations of a night-flight head-mounted display , 1993 .

[69]  Tyler T Prevett,et al.  Exploring the dimensions of egocentricity in aircraft navigation displays , 1995 .

[70]  Benjamin Watson,et al.  A virtual airplane for fear of flying therapy , 1996, Proceedings of the IEEE 1996 Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[71]  Colin Ware,et al.  Dynamic stereo displays , 1995, CHI '95.

[72]  Randy Pausch,et al.  A user study comparing head-mounted and stationary displays , 1993, Proceedings of 1993 IEEE Research Properties in Virtual Reality Symposium.

[73]  Loran A. Haworth,et al.  TRISTAR III: helmet-mounted display symbology , 1995, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[74]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Object versus space-based models of visual attention: Implications for the design of head-up displays , 1995 .

[75]  R. Blake,et al.  The precedence of binocular fusion over binocular rivalry , 1985, Perception & psychophysics.

[76]  Anthony D. Andre,et al.  Taxiway Navigation and Situation Awareness (T-NASA) System: Problem, Design Philosophy, and Description of an Integrated Display Suite for Low-Visibility Airport Surface Operations , 1996 .

[77]  Robert E. Cole,et al.  Teleoperator performance with virtual window display , 1991, Electronic Imaging.

[78]  Woodrow Barfield,et al.  Virtual environments and advanced interface design , 1995 .

[79]  Marilyn C. Salzman,et al.  ScienceSpace: virtual realities for learning complex and abstract scientific concepts , 1996, Proceedings of the IEEE 1996 Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium.

[80]  Daniel J Weintraub,et al.  Human factors issues in head-up display design : the book of HUD , 1992 .

[81]  David C. Foyle,et al.  Attentional limitations with Head-Up Displays , 1993 .

[82]  Peter A. Hancock,et al.  Spatial Orientation in Real and Virtual Worlds , 1993 .

[83]  Thomas M. Lippert,et al.  Fundamental monocular/binocular HMD human factors , 1990, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[84]  A. B. Nutt.  Binocular vision. , 1945, The British orthoptic journal.

[85]  R. Jagacinski.  A Qualitative Look at Feedback Control Theory as a Style of Describing Behavior , 1977 .

[86]  U. Neisser,et al.  Selective looking: Attending to visually specified events , 1975, Cognitive Psychology.

[87]  A. M. Rohaly,et al.  The Effects of Divided Attention on Peripheral Target Localization. , 1997 .

[88]  W. Kintsch,et al.  Memory and cognition , 1977 .

[89]  K. Nakayama,et al.  Real world occlusion constraints and binocular rivalry , 1990, Vision Research.

[90]  S. Ellis,et al.  Distance Perception of Stereoscopically Presented Virtual Objects Optically Superimposed on Physical Objects by a Head-Mounted See-Through Display , 1994 .

[91]  D. LaBerge,et al.  Theory of attentional operations in shape identification. , 1989 .

[92]  R. John Hansman,et al.  Experimental Study of Electronically Based Instrument Approach Plates , 1994 .

[93]  Steven P. Williams,et al.  In-simulator assessment of trade-offs arising from mixture of color cuing and monocular, binoptic, and stereopsis cuing information , 1990, IEEE Proceedings on Southeastcon.

[94]  David C. Foyle,et al.  Modelling Attentional Effects with Head-up Displays , 1993 .