Wide Field of View Head Mounted Display: Integration and Evaluation in a Motion Simulator

Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) are a flexible and small-sized alternative to projection screens as a visualization device on motion simulators. However, only few HMDs on the market feature a wide field of view (FoV) combined with a low weight. Among these, the xSight 6123 HMD from Sensics, with a horizontal FoV of 118 degrees and a weight of 400g, is a particularly suitable choice for use on a motion simulator. In this work, we integrated the xSight 6123 HMD into the virtual reality setup of our CyberMotion simulator. Therefore, we developed a new camera class for visual systems with stereo capabilities for the open source 3D engine OGRE. Furthermore, we investigated the benefit of the HMD compared to a projection screen by designing and conducting experiments on flight control tasks and driving simulation. We found that subjects show a better control performance when a screen is used, and that a narrow FoV does not affect their performance. Therefore, we conclude that on motion simulators, whenever possible, a projection system should be preferred to an HMD