Head Tracking and Virtual Reality by Benjamin Nielsen

Head Tracking and Virtual Reality Components of Virtual Reality Methods of Head Tracking Applications Conclusion

Components of Virtual Reality Aims to remove differences between “real reality” and virtual reality  Left eye/Right eye differentiation  “Authentic” interface devices  Adapts to user's head movements

Left eye/Right eye problem We get depth perception from having two eyes, each producing their own image Computer screens produce one image for both eyes Red-Blue glasses

Head Tracking Changes the position of the virtual camera based on the position of the user's head Allows you to look around virtual corners by moving your physical head Gives a greater sense of depth

How head tracking works Accelerometer-based head tracking  Computes head position from accelerations  Low computational overhead  Problems include calibration and accumulated error Camera-based head tracking  Computes head position from recognizable points  Very precise  More computationally intensive  Some participants reported motion sickness

Tracking points Head tracking camera needs points to recognize Infrared LEDs are popular for these points, for several reasons:  Less chance of a false positive in the background  WiiMote's IR camera can automatically track multiple points

Applications Training simulations  Used in a study on training industrial welders  Military training simulators Gaming  Pretty much any 3d game

Conclusion Head tracking provides one component of virtual reality Current solutions aren't perfect  Points may be hidden  Too few points used Solutions will improve with time