The science behind virtual reality displays

Scarfe, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3587-6198 and Glennerster, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8674-2763 (2019) The science behind virtual reality displays. Annual Review of Vision Science, 5 (1). pp. 529-547. ISSN 1941-1413 doi: 10.1146/annurev-vision-091718-014942

Abstract/Summary

Virtual reality (VR) is becoming an increasingly important way to investigate sensory processing. The converse is also true: in order to build good VR technologies, one needs an intimate understanding of how our brain processes sensory information. One of the key advantages of studying perception with VR is that it allows an experimenter to probe perceptual processing in a more naturalistic way than has been possible previously. In VR, one is able to actively explore and interact with the environment, just as one would do in real life. In this article, we review the history of VR displays, including the philosophical origins of VR, before discussing some key challenges involved in generating good VR and how a sense of presence in a virtual environment can be measured. We discuss the importance of multisensory VR and evaluate the experimental tension that exists between artifice and realism when investigating sensory processing.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/84655
Identification Number/DOI	10.1146/annurev-vision-091718-014942
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Publisher	Annual Reviews
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