Enabling Effective Human Spatial Cognition, Orientation and Behaviour in Virtual Environments

目标：调查是什么构成了有效的、稳健的和直观的人类空间定向和行为。这些基本知识将被应用于设计新颖、更有效的人机界面和交互范例，使其能够在虚拟现实(VR)、沉浸式游戏和多媒体等计算机中介环境中实现类似有效的过程。动机：虽然现代虚拟现实模拟可以拥有令人惊叹的照片真实感，但它们通常无法提供在模拟世界中穿行的逼真和令人信服的感觉，从而限制了感知的真实感、行为有效性、用户接受度和商业成功。此外，VR用户经常会迷失方向，因为支持的空间行为仍然笨拙和不自然。方法和短期/中期目标：我建议调查和利用自我运动错觉(“Vect”)可能是一种简明而优雅的方式来克服这些缺点，并在计算机中介环境中提供真正的“移动体验”，从而使更广泛的受众能够更负担得起但更有效的模拟。我的团队最近提供了第一个证据，证明这种具体化的自动错觉确实可以促进视角切换和空间定向，从而提供与实际自动相似的好处，但不需要花费和精力来移动用户。这项研究计划将证实并进一步研究自我运动错觉对更广泛的空间定向/认知任务的功能/行为意义，这些任务通常很难在没有实际自我运动的情况下完成。为此，我的团队将在VR中对人类参与者进行实验，以调查和优化空间定向和自我运动感知/错觉的多模式和更高级别的贡献和交互，同时将参照系冲突降至最低。具体地说，我的受训者小组将：(A)研究和利用更高水平和多模式的协同效益来增强视觉；(B)设计和评估用户驱动的运动提示界面；(C)使用三个互补的实验范式来研究视觉的功能意义；(D)设计向虚拟现实的过渡；(E)开发新的实验范式；以及(F)将研究结果整合到我们的理论框架中。多模式、自然主义和沉浸式虚拟现实提供了在可重现、明确定义和可控制的实验条件下研究人类感知和行为的独特机会。长期目标：调查我们如何最好地利用自动错觉和研究引导的界面设计和开发，以使虚拟现实和其他沉浸式媒体中的空间认知、方向和行为栩栩如生、健壮和轻松。意义：这项研究计划将导致对人类空间认知、感知和行为的更深入理解，使我们能够设计更有效的人机界面和交互隐喻。这些将为评估提供改进的试验台，并促进和激励进一步的研究。因此，将基础研究和应用研究结合起来，将使我们能够确定感知/行动的基本参数，并将精准地指出使大脑在模拟虚拟现实时受骗的“盲点”。这将为众多身临其境和远程呈现的应用创造更具成本效益的虚拟解决方案，如驾驶/飞行模拟、建筑演练、沉浸式游戏和娱乐、空间探索、工程、紧急培训、微创手术和视频会议。

GOAL: To investigate what constitutes effective, robust, and intuitive human spatial orientation and behaviour. This fundamental knowledge will be applied to design novel, more effective human-computer interfaces and interaction paradigms that enable similarly effective processes in computer-mediated environments like virtual reality (VR), immersive gaming, and multi-media. MOTIVATION: While modern VR simulations can have stunning photorealism, they are typically unable to provide a life-like and compelling sensation of moving through the simulated world, thus limiting perceived realism, behavioural effectiveness, user acceptance, and commercial success. Moreover, VR users frequently get disoriented because the supported spatial behaviour is still clumsy and unnatural. APPROACH & SHORT/MID-TERM OBJECTIVES: I propose that investigating and exploiting self-motion illusions ("vection") might be a lean and elegant way to overcome such shortcomings and provide a truly "moving experience" in computer-mediated environments, thus enabling more affordable-yet-effective simulations for broader audiences. My team recently provided the first evidence that such embodied self-motion illusions can indeed facilitate perspective switches and spatial orientation, thus providing similar benefits as actual self-motion, but without the cost and effort involved in having to physically move the user. This research program will corroborate and further investigate the functional/behavioural significance of self-motion illusions for a wider range of spatial orientation/cognition tasks that would normally be difficult to accomplish without actual self-motion. To this end, my team will perform experiments with human participants in VR to investigate and optimize multi-modal and higher-level contributions and interactions for spatial orientation and self-motion perception/illusions, while minimizing reference frame conflicts. Specifically, my group of trainees will:(A) Research and utilize higher-level and multi-modal synergistic benefits to enhance vection; (B) Design and evaluate user-powered motion cueing interfaces;(C) Investigate the functional significance of vection using three complementary experimental paradigms;(D) Design transitions into VR;(E) Develop novel experimental paradigms; and (F) Integrate findings into our theoretical framework.Multi-modal, naturalistic and immersive VR provides the unique opportunity to study human perception and behaviour in reproducible, clearly defined and controllable experimental conditions. LONG-TERM GOALS: To investigate how we can best employ self-motion illusion and research-guided interface design and development to enable life-like, robust and effortless spatial cognition, orientation and behaviour in VR and other immersive media. SIGNIFICANCE: This research program will lead to a deeper understanding of human spatial cognition, perception and behaviour that will enable us to design more effective human-computer interfaces and interaction metaphors. These will provide improved test beds for evaluation as well as enable and inspire further research. Thus, combining fundamental and applied research perspectives will allow us to identify the essential parameters of perception/action and will pin-point the "blind spots" that enable the brain to be tricked when simulating VR. This will enable the creation of better cost-effective virtual solutions for numerous immersive and tele-presence applications such as driving/flight simulation, architecture walk-throughs, immersive gaming and recreation, space exploration, engineering, emergency training, minimally invasive surgery, and video conferencing.