The effects of depth perception viewing on hand–eye coordination in virtual reality environments

Abstract

AbstractVirtual reality (VR) has been applied to many fields such as visualization, architecture, education, medical science, and sports simulation. Recent VR advancements allow direct manipulation of three‐dimensional (3D) objects in interactive displays, but problems of inefficiency in movement due to inaccuracy in depth perception have been reported. As human interaction in virtual environments (VE) is being realized, factors that may affect depth perception and movement need to be addressed. This study investigated the effects of viewing angle, stereo viewing technology, and visual cues on hand movement performance in a 3D movement task. Ten right‐handed participants performed continuous Fitts' pointing tasks using a computer mouse. Participants were asked to move a cursor to a target ball as quickly as possible. Fitts' law was employed to test effects to capture differences while the hand was moving in the 3D space under three factors, angle of declination, visual depth, and space cue and with varied index of difficulty (ID). Movement time (MT), error rate, and throughput (TP) were recorded as dependent variables. This study found significant effects of angle of declination, visual depth, space cue, and ID. This study investigated the effectiveness of hand movements in 3D environments for a further immersive VE using a two‐dimensional (2D) mouse. Potential applications of this research include the design of interactive 3D display interfaces in which fast and accurate selection is required and the manipulation of 3D objects in 3D environments may be expected.