Managing level of detail through peripheral degradation: effects on search performance with a head-mounted display

ABSTRACT

Two user studies were performed to evaluate the effect of level-of-detail (LOD) degradation in the periphery of head-mounted displays on visual search performance. In the first study, spatial detail was degraded by reducing resolution. In the second study, detail was degraded in the color domain by using grayscale in the periphery. In each study, 10 subjects were given a complex search task that required users to indicate whether or not a target object was present among distracters. Subjects used several different displays varying in the amount of detail presented. Frame rate, object location, subject input method, and order of display use were all controlled. The primary dependent measures were search time on correctly performed trials and the percentage of all trials correctly performed. Results indicated that peripheral LOD degradation can be used to reduce color or spatial visual complexity by almost half in some search tasks with out significantly reducing performance.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Theory and methods; Screen design (e.g., text, graphics, color)

  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.3 COMPUTER GRAPHICS
      I.3.7 Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism
          Subjects: Virtual reality

General Terms:
Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
detail management, high-detail inset, level of detail, object simplification, peripheral degradation, visual search