Designing Mixed Reality to Improve Spatial Perception and Accessibility

Abstract

Understanding how both normally sighted and visually impaired users perceive space when wearing immersive mixed reality (MR) displays is essential for developing effective applications to the widest audience possible. This is especially important given the abundance of prior research which has shown that people's perception of depth is distorted in MR head-mounted displays (HMDs). Motivated by depth cue integration theories, researchers previously explored the possibility that graphical realism in augmented reality (AR) displays might be necessary to mitigate depth perception distortions that arise from conflicting depth cues between virtual overlays and the real environment.

To investigate the influence of realistic and non-photorealistic graphics on people's perception of space, I conducted a series of behavioral studies with normally sighted participants that evaluated how graphical elements influence surface contact perception and egocentric depth perception judgments in different AR displays. The results from these studies provide evidence that non-photorealistic graphics can be employed to improve spatial perception. In doing so, they also provide evidence against the theory that consistent, realistic graphics are requisite for accurate spatial perception.

I then developed an immersive vision impairment simulation to create a controlled environment for studying the impact of central and peripheral vision loss on people's depth perception, as well as the impact of non-photorealistic graphics in MR for individuals with visual field loss. A behavioral study conducted with the vision simulation demonstrated differential impacts of central and peripheral vision loss on people's depth perception. And it provided evidence that non-photorealistic graphics can improve depth perception for visually impaired users in MR displays. These findings manifest the promise of non-photorealistic graphics for enhancing spatial perception in MR displays, promoting accessibility for both normally sighted and visually impaired users, and they demonstrate the utility of low vision simulation as a design tool.