Field-of-view tests for a virtual cockpit application

The virtual cockpit application aims to perform ergonomics studies on future aircraft cockpits, directly from digital mock-ups. This is made possible by immersing a user in a digital mock-up with the help of virtual reality devices. The challenge is then to reproduce a realistic and exact visual environment. To do that, some visual criteria have to be determined: the necessary values of visual acuity, temporal resolution, and field of view. Some of them are easy to find, but the field-of-view requirement is far more subjective and complex to evaluate. We present tests which have helped us to determine the necessary and sufficient values of field of view for such an application. We advise then to use a field of view higher than 75 deg, for ergonomic studies and good performances of the users, and up to 133 deg to increase visual comfort. These results will be used for the specification of a head-mounted display for the application. (C) 2006 SPIE and IS&T.