Biomechanical Analysis of Eye Movement in Virtual Environments: A Validation Study

Abstract

Visual ergonomics through ocular biomechanical analysis is an inviting, non-invasive method to add insights into the effect of immersion on our ocular system. It can also add insights into the mental and cognitive state, due to the tight coupling of eye movement and mental state. Eye movement tracking has been used in studying eye movement in normal activities and with the use of embedded eye trackers into virtual reality headsets, this can be easily extended into virtual environments. In this paper, we present a biomechanical analysis of eye movements recorded from subjects during immersion. Our objective is to validate the ocular biomechanical model used, through comparing recorded and muscle-driven eye movement. The regression analysis between the recorded eye movement and the muscle-driven eye movement shows a strong significant positive correlation. In addition, the computed extra-ocular muscle controls show agonist-antagonist relationships which is in accordance with the normal realistic eye movement. Insights into the different eye-head coordination styles performed by subjects are highlighted, too.