Exploring the effect of virtual depth on pupil diameter

© 2019 IEEE. Virtual and Augmented reality (VR/AR) are being extensively used in many applications that extends from entertainment, training to rehabilitation and treatment of disorders. Studies on the effects of extended use of VR immersion has been performed. However, the change of pupil diameter with the change of VR simulated depth has not been investigated. Pupil dilation is an indicative measure of cognitive overload. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between VR simulated depth and the pupil diameter change. Results showed a significant difference in pupil diameter change with simulated depth and also a strong negative correlation. This indicates that as the depth of the VR object increase (distance from the VR user increase), the VR user's pupil diameter decreases. These results show that change in pupil diameter can be an indicative of change in the depth of the observed virtual object. This can be an effective VR/AR scene scanning and understanding tool.