Towards Immersive Virtual Reality Simulations of Bionic Vision

TL;DR

This paper proposes embedding biologically realistic models of simulated prosthetic vision into immersive virtual reality to better predict visual experiences of bionic vision users and improve device design.

Contribution

It introduces a novel VR-based simulation platform that incorporates biological realism to enhance the study of bionic vision and user experience prediction.

Findings

Enables realistic visualization of prosthetic vision in VR

Allows sighted subjects to simulate bionic vision tasks

Facilitates better understanding of visual perception with neuroprostheses

Abstract

Bionic vision is a rapidly advancing field aimed at developing visual neuroprostheses ('bionic eyes') to restore useful vision to people who are blind. However, a major outstanding challenge is predicting what people 'see' when they use their devices. The limited field of view of current devices necessitates head movements to scan the scene, which is difficult to simulate on a computer screen. In addition, many computational models of bionic vision lack biological realism. To address these challenges, we propose to embed biologically realistic models of simulated prosthetic vision (SPV) in immersive virtual reality (VR) so that sighted subjects can act as 'virtual patients' in real-world tasks.