Optimized HMD system for underwater VR experience

PubDate: July 2017

Teams: University of Tsukuba；The University of Tokyo

Writers: Hiroyuki Osone；Takatoshi Yoshida；Yoichi Ochiai

PDF: Optimized HMD system for underwater VR experience

Abstract

Many people exercise in water. However, when they swim in the pool, they may get bored. Therefore, studies on virtural reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in water have been made. Aquacave[Yamashita et al. 2016] allows you to experience VR in an aquarium. The payload is low but the cost of setting up the environment is high. We cannot swim, over a wide area, and so it cannot be used by many people. Zhang, Tan, and Chen (2016) have created a head-mounted display (HMD)[Zhang et al. 2016] that can be used underwater, but in this structure, air enters the device, which greatly increases the buoyancy, making swimming uncomfortable. In Quarles (2015)[Quarles 2015], water was present in the internal structure of the HMD, but its optical impact was not discussed, the viewing angle is unknown. Therefore, we designed an optimal HMD for swimming. Because there was no air layer in the HMD, it was expected that buoyancy would not be an issue and that the HMD could easily be worn while swimming. Our study is the first to evaluate underwater VR by subject experiments.