Oculomotor responses and 3D displays

This thesis investigated some of the eye movement factors related to the development and use of eye pointing devices with three dimensional displays (stereoscopic and linear perspective). In order for eye pointing to be used as a successful device for input-control of a 3D display it is necessary to characterise the accuracy and speed with which the binocular point of foveation can locate a particular point in 3D space. Linear perspective was found to be insufficient to elicit a change in the depth of the binocular point of fixation except under optimal conditions (monocular viewing, accommodative loop open and constant display paradigm). Comparison of the oculomotor responses made between a stereoscopic 'virtual' and a 'real' display showed there were no differences with regards to target fixational accuracy. With one exception, subjects showed the same degree of fixational accuracy with respect to target direction and depth. However, close target proximity (in terms of direction) affected the accuracy of fixation with respect to depth (but not direction). No differences were found between fixational accuracy of large and small targets under either display conditions. The visual conditions eliciting fast changes in the location of the binocular point of foveation, i.e. saccade disconjugacy, were investigated. Target-directed saccade disconjugacy was confirmed, in some cases, between targets presented at different depths on a stereoscopic display. However, in general the direction of saccade disconjugacy was best predicted by the horizontal direction of the target. Leftward saccade disconjugacy was more divergent than rightward. This asymmetry was overlaid on a disconjugacy response, which when considered in relative terms, was appropriated for the level of vergence demand. Linear perspective depth cues did not elicit target-directed disconjugate saccades

Model for volume lighting and modeling

Journal ArticleAbstract-Direct volume rendering is a commonly used technique in visualization applications. Many of these applications require sophisticated shading models to capture subtle lighting effects and characteristics of volumetric data and materials. For many volumes, homogeneous regions pose problems for typical gradient-based surface shading. Many common objects and natural phenomena exhibit visual quality that cannot be captured using simple lighting models or cannot be solved at interactive rates using more sophisticated methods. We present a simple yet effective interactive shading model which captures volumetric light attenuation effects that incorporates volumetric shadows, an approximation to phase functions, an approximation to forward scattering, and chromatic attenuation that provides the subtle appearance of translucency. We also present a technique for volume displacement or perturbation that allows realistic interactive modeling of high frequency detail for both real and synthetic volumetric data

Numerical study of the fluid motion and mixing processes in the vitreous cavity

The vitreous cavity, the largest chamber of the eye, is delimited anteriorly by the lens and posteriorly by the retina and is filled by the vitreous humour. Under normal conditions the vitreous humour has the consistency of a gel, however, typically, with advancing age a disintegration of the gel structure occurs, leading to a vitreous liquefaction. Moreover, after a surgical procedure called vitrectomy the vitreous body may be completely removed and replaced by tamponade fluids. Besides allowing the establishment of an unhindered path of light from the lens to the retina, the vitreous also has important mechanical functions. In particular, it has the role of supporting the retina in contact to the outer layers of the eye, and of acting as a diffusion barrier for molecule transport between the anterior and the posterior segments of the eye. Studying the dynamics of the vitreous induced by eye rotations (saccadic movements) is important in connection of both the above aspects. On the one hand indications exist that the shear stress exerted by the vitreous on the retina may be connected with the occurrence of retinal detachment. On the other hand, if the vitreous motion is intense enough (a situation occurring either when the vitreous is liqueed or when it has been replaced with a uid after vitrectomy), advective transport may be by far more important than diffusion and may have complex characteristics. Advection has indeed been shown to play an important role in the transport phenomena within the vitreous cavity, but, so far, only advection due to the slow overall fluid ux from the anterior to the posterior segments of the eye has been accounted for, while fluid motion due to eye rotations, even if it is generally believed to play an important role, has been invariably disregarded. Some recent contributions have pointed out the importance of accounting for the real vitreous cavity shape in studying uid motion induced by eye rotations. Modelling the vitreous cavity as a deformed sphere, showed that the flow field displays very complex three- dimensional characteristics to which effective fluid mixing is likely to be associated. The purpose of the thesis is to model numerically the motion of the liqueed vitreous within the vitreous cavity induced by different eye movements. Create the model in the Comsol interface, compare the results with theoretical, experimental measurements and do some ow visualizations. Finally show the dependence of the streaming intensity from the amplitude of rotations and the Womersley number .The vitreous cavity, the largest chamber of the eye, is delimited anteriorly by the lens and posteriorly by the retina and is filled by the vitreous humour. Under normal conditions the vitreous humour has the consistency of a gel, however, typically, with advancing age a disintegration of the gel structure occurs, leading to a vitreous liquefaction. Moreover, after a surgical procedure called vitrectomy the vitreous body may be completely removed and replaced by tamponade fluids. Besides allowing the establishment of an unhindered path of light from the lens to the retina, the vitreous also has important mechanical functions. In particular, it has the role of supporting the retina in contact to the outer layers of the eye, and of acting as a diffusion barrier for molecule transport between the anterior and the posterior segments of the eye. Studying the dynamics of the vitreous induced by eye rotations (saccadic movements) is important in connection of both the above aspects. On the one hand indications exist that the shear stress exerted by the vitreous on the retina may be connected with the occurrence of retinal detachment. On the other hand, if the vitreous motion is intense enough (a situation occurring either when the vitreous is liqueed or when it has been replaced with a uid after vitrectomy), advective transport may be by far more important than diffusion and may have complex characteristics. Advection has indeed been shown to play an important role in the transport phenomena within the vitreous cavity, but, so far, only advection due to the slow overall fluid ux from the anterior to the posterior segments of the eye has been accounted for, while fluid motion due to eye rotations, even if it is generally believed to play an important role, has been invariably disregarded. Some recent contributions have pointed out the importance of accounting for the real vitreous cavity shape in studying uid motion induced by eye rotations. Modelling the vitreous cavity as a deformed sphere, showed that the flow field displays very complex three- dimensional characteristics to which effective fluid mixing is likely to be associated. The purpose of the thesis is to model numerically the motion of the liqueed vitreous within the vitreous cavity induced by different eye movements. Create the model in the Comsol interface, compare the results with theoretical, experimental measurements and do some ow visualizations. Finally show the dependence of the streaming intensity from the amplitude of rotations and the Womersley number .

The Perception of Ordinal Depth Relationship from Static and Deforming Boundary Contours

Previous investigations of the perception of 3-D shape from deforming boundary contours have focused on judgments of global shape (Cortese & Anderson, 1991), judgments of rigid vs. nonrigid motion (Norman & Todd, 1994), and object recognition (Norman, Dawson, & Raines, 2000). Raines and Norman (1999) provided the first study demonstrating that deforming boundary contours could support the accurate perception of local 3-D surface structure. The present set of experiments extend the Raines and Norman study by further investigating whether the distance from the boundary contour or the amount of overall boundary deformation affect the human ability to make local judgments about 3-D shape. In these experiments, the observers viewed either static or moving silhouettes of randomly shaped, smoothly curved objects (see Raines & Norman, 1999; Norman & Todd, 1996, 1998) before making ordinal depth judgments about two highlighted regions on the object\u27s surface. Two local regions on the objects\u27 surface were highlighted, and the observers were required to judge which of the two regions was closer to them in depth. In Experiment 1, the proximity of the highlighted regions to the objects\u27 occlusion boundary was manipulated as well as the presence or absence of binocularly disparate views. Viewing regions closer to the boundary contour led to more precise judgments of ordinal depth than those regions further away. The results also showed that the presence of disparate views had a different effect on the two motion types. While stereoscopic views improved performance dramatically in the stationary conditions, the same disparities had little effect on performance in the motion conditions. In Experiment 2, the observers viewed apparent motion sequences that presented varying degrees of boundary deformation. Although performance decreased as the amount of deformation decreased, the observers\u27 judgments remained relatively precise even at the smallest angles of oscillation. In summary, these results confirm previous findings showing that boundary contours, especially deforming contours, are an important source of information about 3-D shape. These results also show that information from the boundary contour propagates inward to regions far from the boundary and that even small amounts of deformation can support the accurate perception of ordinal depth

Distributed earth model/orbiter simulation

Distributed Earth Model/Orbiter Simulation (DEMOS) is a network based application developed for the UNIX environment that visually monitors or simulates the Earth and any number of orbiting vehicles. Its purpose is to provide Mission Control Center (MCC) flight controllers with a visually accurate three dimensional (3D) model of the Earth, Sun, Moon and orbiters, driven by real time or simulated data. The project incorporates a graphical user interface, 3D modelling employing state-of-the art hardware, and simulation of orbital mechanics in a networked/distributed environment. The user interface is based on the X Window System and the X Ray toolbox. The 3D modelling utilizes the Programmer's Hierarchical Interactive Graphics System (PHIGS) standard and Raster Technologies hardware for rendering/display performance. The simulation of orbiting vehicles uses two methods of vector propagation implemented with standard UNIX/C for portability. Each part is a distinct process that can run on separate nodes of a network, exploiting each node's unique hardware capabilities. The client/server communication architecture of the application can be reused for a variety of distributed applications

Effects of different tumors on the steady-state heat distribution in the human eye using the 3D finite element method

In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element method is developed to simulate the heat distribution in the human eye with different types of tumors to understand the effect of tumors on heat distribution in the human eye. The human eye is modeled as a composition of several homogeneous regions and the physical and thermal properties of each region used in this study are more accurate than the models used in previous studies. By considering the exact and complicated geometry of all parts, the finite element method is a proper solution for solving the heat equation inside the human eye. There are two kinds of boundary conditions called the radiation condition and the Robin condition. The radiation boundary condition is modeled as a Robin boundary condition. For modeling eye tumors and their effect on heat distribution, we need information about eye tumor properties such as heat conductivity, density, specific heat, and so on. Thanks to no accurate reported information about eye tumor properties, the properties of other types of tumors such as skin, and bowel tumors are used. Simulation results with different parameters of eye tumors show the effect of eye tumors on heat distribution in the human eye.Comment: 15 pages, 6 Figures, 5 Table

Engineering data compendium. Human perception and performance. User's guide

The concept underlying the Engineering Data Compendium was the product of a research and development program (Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers project) aimed at facilitating the application of basic research findings in human performance to the design and military crew systems. The principal objective was to develop a workable strategy for: (1) identifying and distilling information of potential value to system design from the existing research literature, and (2) presenting this technical information in a way that would aid its accessibility, interpretability, and applicability by systems designers. The present four volumes of the Engineering Data Compendium represent the first implementation of this strategy. This is the first volume, the User's Guide, containing a description of the program and instructions for its use

The Application Of RISC Processors To Training Simulators

Report on a study of the utility of reduced instruction set computer processors as the control computers in a training simulator. Report includes a master\u27s thesis on detailed hardware design for interfacing transputer hardware to the NeXT computer