CRI: IAD - Advancing Virtual Environments as Laboratories for Studying Human Behavior

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

This is an equipment grant to purchase eye-tracking and display technology to support multidisciplinary research on the use of virtual environments as a medium for the study of human behavior. The research program uses an immersive, interactive bicycling simulator to study how child and adult cyclists make decisions about crossing traffic-filled roads, and a large-screen immersive display system to study spatial perception in real and virtual environments. Using the new instrumentation, the project will: 1) Integrate an eye-tracking and head-tracking system with the existing interactive bicycling simulator to conduct studies of visual attention during road crossing, 2) Test how projecting stereo images and a ground surface adds to the realism and effectiveness of a large-screen display system, and 3) Compare a large-screen display system with a head-mounted display system to investigate how display characteristics impact spatial perception. New instrumentation will expand current facilities in four important ways: 1) adding eye tracking to the high fidelity bicycling simulator, 2) upgrading large screen displays with stereo projection, 3) adding a ground display to the bicycling simulator, and 4) acquiring a head-mounted display system. By increasing and testing the realism and effectiveness of different types of immersive, interactive virtual environments, and developing new computational techniques for integrating virtual environment technology with other cutting-edge technologies, research using this infrastructure will advance the development of state-of-the-art virtual environments as laboratories for the study of human behavior. The research made possible by this infrastructure will contribute to both our understanding of the development of perception-action coupling during late childhood and early adolescence and to our understanding of the underlying causes of child bicycling injuries. The results will lay a foundation for future intervention studies designed to reduce car-bicycle collisions. Advances made on this project in simulation technology, in experimental methodology, and in our understanding of distance perception will contribute to the development of virtual environments for use in behavioral research. This research will also have impact on interactive simulation technology for training, teaching, and entertainment purposes. Finally, this project will promote multidisciplinary training by providing collaborative research experience to a diverse group of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs in psychology and computer science.