Effect of vibration on eye, head and helmet movements while wearing a helmet-mounted display

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated a loss of helmet-mounted display (HMD) legibility for users exposed to whole body vibration. A pair of human factors studies was conducted to evaluate the effect of whole body vibration on eye, head, and helmet movements for seated users of a HMD while conducting simple fixation and smooth pursuit tracking tasks. These experiments confirmed that vertical eye motion can be demonstrated, that is consistent with the human visual systems' response to the vestibular–ocular reflex (VOR). Helmet slippage was also shown to occur, which could exacerbate loss of display legibility. The largest amplitudes in eye movements were observed during exposure to sinusoidal vibration in the 4–6 Hz range, which is consistent with the frequencies that past research has associated with whole-body resonance and the largest decrease in display legibility. Further, the measured eye movements appeared to be correlated with both the angular acceleration of the user's head and the angular slippage of the user's helmet. This research demonstrates that the loss of legibility while wearing HMDs likely results from a combination of VOR-triggered eye movements and movement of the display. Future compensation algorithms should consider adjusting the display in response to both VOR-triggered eye and HMD motion.