Click here to flash read.
Foveated graphics is a promising approach to solving the bandwidth challenges
of immersive virtual and augmented reality displays by exploiting the falloff
in spatial acuity in the periphery of the visual field. However, the perceptual
models used in these applications neglect the effects of higher-level cognitive
processing, namely the allocation of visual attention, and are thus
overestimating sensitivity in the periphery in many scenarios. Here, we
introduce the first attention-aware model of contrast sensitivity. We conduct
user studies to measure contrast sensitivity under different attention
distributions and show that sensitivity in the periphery drops significantly
when the user is required to allocate attention to the fovea. We motivate the
development of future foveation models with another user study and demonstrate
that tolerance for foveation in the periphery is significantly higher when the
user is concentrating on a task in the fovea. Analysis of our model predicts
significant bandwidth savings over those afforded by current models. As such,
our work forms the foundation for attention-aware foveated graphics techniques.
No creative common's license