Comparing Distance Judgments in Real and Augmented Reality

There is a growing interest in using augmented reality for simulation and training across fields such as medicine, military, and others. An important question to address is whether distances to virtual objects displayed in augmented reality are perceived accurately and similarly to the real world. Current augmented reality (AR) devices, such as the HoloLens, provide an advantage over virtual reality with regard to depth perception because they display virtual objects in a real world context that preserves depth cues of the real world. However, these AR devices limit real world experience because they restrict the field of view (FOV), add weight, and may be cumbersome to wear over time. In the current study, we investigated whether distance judgments were similar when objects were presented in the real world or in augmented reality (via the HoloLens version 1). All participants wore the device to control for the effect of weight on distance judgments. We also tested whether reducing cues to depth by asking participants to view the targets both monocularly and binocularly affected judgments. Participants blind walked to a cube placed at varying distances in both a condition where the cube was viewed monocularly and binocularly. There was no main effect for viewing in augmented reality vs. the real world. But, viewing condition (either monocular or binocular) did interact with group such that viewing monocularly resulted in greater underestimation of farther distances for AR targets compared to real world targets. These findings provide support for the notion that distance estimations to real and augmented reality objects can be similar, given binocular viewing conditions. Our study suggests that AR may be well suited for training and simulation applications that utilize the range of distances tested herein.