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Perceptual Aspects of VR

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Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR)

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) has the special ability to provide the user with the illusion of presence in a virtual world. This is one aspect of the valuable potential that VR possesses concerning the design and realization of human–machine interfaces. Whether and how successfully this potential is exploited is not only a technical problem. It is also based on processes of human perception to interpret the sensory stimuli presented by the virtual environment. This chapter deals with basic knowledge from the field of human information processing for a better understanding of the associated perceptual issues. Of particular interest in VR are the perception of space and the perception of movement, which will be dealt with specifically. Based on these fundamentals, typical VR phenomena and problems are discussed, such as double vision and cybersickness. Knowledge of human perception processes can be used to explain these phenomena and to derive solution strategies. Finally, this chapter shows how different limitations of human perception can be utilized to improve the quality and user experience during a VR session.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Design, Computer Science, Media, RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Wiesbaden, Germany

    Ralf Doerner

Authors
  1. Ralf Doerner
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  2. Frank Steinicke
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Correspondence to Ralf Doerner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Design, Computer Science, Media, RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Wiesbaden, Germany

    Ralf Doerner

  2. Department of Computer Science and Automation / Department for Economic Science and Media, Ilmenau University of Technology, Ilmenau, Germany

    Wolfgang Broll

  3. Department of Media, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany

    Paul Grimm

  4. Institute for Informatics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany

    Bernhard Jung

Recommended Reading

The ACM Symposium on Applied Perception (SAP) as well as the journal Transaction on Applied Perception (TAP) deal with multisensory perception in virtual worlds.

Recommended Reading

  • Goldstein EB (2016) Sensation and Perception (10th edn). Cengage Learning, Belmont – Standard work from the psychology of perception which is not limited to visual perception. Very informative and with many examples.

  • Thompson WB, Fleming WF, Creem-Regehr SH, Stefanucci JK (2011) Visual Perception from a Computer Graphics Perspective. CRC Press, Boca Raton – Textbook which also explains essential aspects of perception for VR and always makes the connection to computer graphics.

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Doerner, R., Steinicke, F. (2022). Perceptual Aspects of VR. In: Doerner, R., Broll, W., Grimm, P., Jung, B. (eds) Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79062-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79062-2_2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-79061-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-79062-2

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