Barbara Shinn-Cunningham
Nat Durlach
Richard Held
Res. Lab. of Electron., MIT, 36-757, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
The ability of humans to adapt to inter-modal discrepancies is an important factor in the design of virtual environments. In the present study, azimuthal localization cues were altered (to magnify interaural differences) relative to real proprioceptive, visual, and vestibular cues. Subjects were alternately tested and trained in hybrid real/virtual environments where auditory stimuli were synthesized (using a PC, Convolvotron, and electromagnetic head tracker) to be a 1 of 13 discrete positions marked by real lights. Testing consisted of identifying the azimuth of virtual sound sources without correct answer feedback or significant head motion. Preliminary findings on resolution and bias for a variety of different training procedures as well as a number of different transformations of the localization cues will be overviewed. [Work supported by AFOSR, Grant No. 90-200.]