From: jmelzer@aol.com (JMELZER)
Subject: Re: HUMAN-FACTORS: Long term immersion in VR
Date: 29 Jun 1996 14:54:21 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)


Toni Emerson wrote:
> 
> I'm looking for studies on the effects of long term immersion in HMDs

It would seem that there are a couple of issues to address here. John
Wann and his associates have looked at residual binocular problems
following exposure to HMDs. This would appear to be the result of 1)
binocular misalignment of the HMD (John and I have had some
discussions on this previously) and/or 2) vergence/focus mismatch.

There are papers in the literature which deal with these issues. See
recent papers by Eli Peli, John Wann and one a few years ago by
Wilkinson and Sheehy, which address the some of the visual
issues. There may also be documentation in the literature from the
military groups, especially the Army, who have had their pilots flying
HMD-type systems for years, like NVGs and the IHADSS.

If we were to eliminate issues associated with the way in which HMDs
generate their imagery i.e., separate optical paths, or those issues
associated with wearing a pound or two of additional equipment on the
head, it would seem that there must be a wealth of information on the
long term effects due to immersion in large projection-type
simulators.  These people have studied this area for many years. You
might try the Air Force people at Wright-Patterson AFB, or some of the
Navy people who work in simulation.

Regards,

Jim Melzer
jmelzer@aol.com (JMELZER)