1:1 Scale Perception in Virtual and Augmented Reality
Emmanuelle Combe, Javier Posselt, Renault Sas, Andras Kemeny · 2008
In this experiment, carried out at Renault, we studied size perception in virtual environments. Renault uses Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR and AR) technologies in the vehicle design process to visualize digital prototypes. Such simulations enable to take early decisions, in particular for vehicle architecture, which imply driver visibility performances and safety. We compared 1:1 scale perception of a cockpit through two different virtual reality systems: a Head Mounted Display (HMD), which can be used as virtual or augmented reality system, and a cylindrical screen vs. the physical 1:1 scale. We used HMD under three conditions. The first condition was basic virtual reality with head tracking. The second condition was identical, except for head-tracking which was turned off. Although this condition is not used in engineering simulations, we chose to study it in order to determine if head-tracking has an influence on size perception. As the HMD can be used as video see through augmented reality system (using video cameras), the third condition was augmented reality, to determine how body perception influences size perception. We used an adjustment task, to determine at which scale the cockpit must be displayed to subjects, to perceptually correspond to the 1:1 scale, i.e. the actual physical size. We show that differences exist between size perception using the HMD, and using the cylindrical screen. Underestimations seem to be more frequent when using cylindrical screen. Moreover, the level of knowledge of the vehicle and the virtual reality system also seems to influence subject’s size perception.