Reduced field of view alters scanning behaviour

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mobility Research
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) offers potential for studying and training mobility activities like cycling, walking, and street crossing.
• Limited field of view (FoV) in head-mounted displays (HMDs) may affect user scanning behavior, potentially limiting the transferability of VR findings to real-world scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how a reduced FoV influences scanning behavior during mobility activities.
• To determine if these scanning alterations differ across various mobility tasks (walking, cycling, street crossing).

Main Methods:

• Sixteen participants engaged in real-life walking, cycling, and street crossing tasks under normal and reduced FoV conditions.
• A mobile eye-tracker and gyroscope recorded scanning behaviors, including saccadic frequency/amplitude and head movement frequency/amplitude.
• Horizontal and vertical eye positions were analyzed to quantify scanning patterns.

Main Results:

• Reduced FoV led to increased horizontal head movements with larger amplitudes and more central horizontal eye positioning.
• The overall range of horizontal and vertical eye positions decreased in the reduced FoV condition.
• The specific effects of reduced FoV on head and eye movements varied depending on the mobility activity.

Conclusions:

• Individuals tend to compensate for a reduced FoV by increasing head movements and centralizing eye gaze.
• Findings suggest caution is needed when extrapolating scanning behavior observed in HMDs to real-life mobility situations.
• The study highlights the importance of considering FoV limitations in VR research for mobility.