Effects of horizontal field-of-view restriction on manoeuvring performance through complex structured environments

Field-of-view (FOV) restrictions are known to affect human behaviour and to degrade performance for a range of different tasks. A proposed cause for this performance impairment is the predominant activation of the ventral cortical stream as compared to the dorsal stream. This may compromise the ability to control heading as well as degrade the processing of spatial information [Patterson et al. 2006]. Furthermore, the peripheral visual field is important in maintaining postural equilibrium [Turano et al. 1993]. These are all significant factors when manoeuvring through complex structured environments. We discuss here two experiments investigating the influence of horizontal FOV-restriction on manoeuvring performance through real-world structured environments. The results can help determine requirements for the selection and development of FOV limiting devices such as Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs).