Distance perception in virtual environments: a closer look at the horizon and the error

Distances are systematically underestimated in the virtual environments. In this work we explore the possibility of shifting the angular the angular declination from the horizon as a way of manipulating perceived distances in a head-mounted display (HMD). We find that shifting the horizon upward 11.5° upward does not have an effect on distance perception. Blind walking tasks at 1.5m, 2.5m, 3.5m, 4.5m and 5.5m show an overestimation of perceived distances less than 2.5m and an underestimation of perceived distances greater than 3.5m. Absolute distance and errors in estimating distance are linearly related.