This thesis... what is it about?

My PhD thesis is about eye movements and visual perception in virtual reality. Here you can find an overview of the projects I work (or have been working) on. My thesis is cumulative. Therefore, I have to publish at least three manuscripts as a scientific paper before submitting the phd thesis. Have fun browsing!


Work in Progress

How does visual search work in VR?

Topic: Classical experiments on visual search are often limited to search experiments in the current field of view. In this project, we want to look at whether head and eye movements have an influence on search in an environment in an environment you can explore via head movements.


Status: Waiting, we submitted a manuscript and are now waiting for the peer review. Fingers crossed..

How do we (visually) perceive height?

Topic: Height simulations work quite well in VR. Why is that actually the case? What are the conditions for a real high-altitude feeling? Where are you actually looking? Can you estimate the altitude well?


Status: Standby. I have programmed a small pilot experiment and thought a lot about what could be measured at all for this topic. Let's see what happens next.




Completed

Can eye tracking predict the next (walking) goal?

Topic: Naturally, you aim at your next target when you walk. But of course you also look at objects that you avoid or simply find interesting. In this project, I wanted to test whether it is possible to predict the next walking target with the help of VR eye trackers.


Status: Done. We have even written multiple articles about this long project. You can find them at Publications. Gianni Bremer has also written his master thesis on this project

How fast are VR eye trackers?

Topic: There have been a number of eye trackers on the market for some time. I am trying to find out how well they are suited for research. Especially the time interval between a measured eye movement and a dependent change on the screen is interesting.


Status: Done. You can find the finished paper at Publications.

Can we unlearn how to walk straight?

Topic: In redirected walking, test subjects are made to walk in circles and are made to believe that they are walking straight ahead. What actually happens when we do this over several days?


Status: Done. For short-term periods (1-2 days) we found clear adaptation effects. I wrote this down in my master's thesis and my first paper . The results for longer periods were quite mixed. Luke Bölling wrote the whole thing up very nicely and in detail in his master's thesis

Can you simulate spectacles in VR?

Topic: Spectacle lenses enlarge or reduce an image for the eyes. Disturbing side effects cannot be avoided, e.g. with varifocals. This makes some people feel sick, especially in the first few weeks. Why is that? Can similar effects be simulated in VR?


Status: Done. The project dates back to my time as an intern at Zeiss. You can find paper and poster at Publications. Malte Scherff and Yannick Sauer have even published another paper based on this idea with exciting simulations of distorted flow fields.