Perception of Terrain Slope in Real and Virtual Environments

Abstract

Virtual reality is an immersive technology with potential uses that extend beyond entertainment and gaming. For example, VR could be leveraged for future use in courtrooms. There, VR could be utilized to transport a jury to the scene at issue in a legal matter (e.g., collision location, trip-and-fall site, occupational settings, etc.). For VR to be admitted in a courtroom as an unbiased demonstrative, it is likely that an expert would need to show that VR images represent a veridical depiction of the actual environment. The current studies examined how visual perception of slope for real-world terrain presented in VR compares to the perception of slope for the same terrain when experienced in-person, and via traditional photographs of the terrain (such as are currently used as courtroom demonstratives). Overall, participants’ perception of slope did not significantly differ across the three mediums, indicating that VR provides a faithful representation of slope magnitude, compared to judgments made at the physical site.