Static or Temporal? Semantic Scene Simplification to Aid Wayfinding in Immersive Simulations of Bionic Vision

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Kasowski, Justin M., Varshney, Apurv, Beyeler, Michael
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Kasowski, Justin M.
Varshney, Apurv
Beyeler, Michael
author_facet Kasowski, Justin M.
Varshney, Apurv
Beyeler, Michael
contents Visual neuroprostheses (bionic eye) aim to restore a rudimentary form of vision by translating camera input into patterns of electrical stimulation. To improve scene understanding under extreme resolution and bandwidth constraints, prior work has explored computer vision techniques such as semantic segmentation and depth estimation. However, presenting all task-relevant information simultaneously can overwhelm users in cluttered environments. We compare two complementary approaches to semantic preprocessing in immersive virtual reality: SemanticEdges, which highlights all relevant objects at once, and SemanticRaster, which staggers object categories over time to reduce visual clutter. Using a biologically grounded simulation of prosthetic vision, 18 sighted participants performed a wayfinding task in a dynamic urban environment across three conditions: edge-based baseline (Control), SemanticEdges, and SemanticRaster. Both semantic strategies improved performance and user experience relative to the baseline, with each offering distinct trade-offs: SemanticEdges increased the odds of success, while SemanticRaster boosted the likelihood of collision-free completions. These findings underscore the value of adaptive semantic preprocessing for prosthetic vision and, more broadly, may inform the design of low-bandwidth visual interfaces in XR that must balance information density, task relevance, and perceptual clarity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_10813
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Static or Temporal? Semantic Scene Simplification to Aid Wayfinding in Immersive Simulations of Bionic Vision
Kasowski, Justin M.
Varshney, Apurv
Beyeler, Michael
Human-Computer Interaction
Visual neuroprostheses (bionic eye) aim to restore a rudimentary form of vision by translating camera input into patterns of electrical stimulation. To improve scene understanding under extreme resolution and bandwidth constraints, prior work has explored computer vision techniques such as semantic segmentation and depth estimation. However, presenting all task-relevant information simultaneously can overwhelm users in cluttered environments. We compare two complementary approaches to semantic preprocessing in immersive virtual reality: SemanticEdges, which highlights all relevant objects at once, and SemanticRaster, which staggers object categories over time to reduce visual clutter. Using a biologically grounded simulation of prosthetic vision, 18 sighted participants performed a wayfinding task in a dynamic urban environment across three conditions: edge-based baseline (Control), SemanticEdges, and SemanticRaster. Both semantic strategies improved performance and user experience relative to the baseline, with each offering distinct trade-offs: SemanticEdges increased the odds of success, while SemanticRaster boosted the likelihood of collision-free completions. These findings underscore the value of adaptive semantic preprocessing for prosthetic vision and, more broadly, may inform the design of low-bandwidth visual interfaces in XR that must balance information density, task relevance, and perceptual clarity.
title Static or Temporal? Semantic Scene Simplification to Aid Wayfinding in Immersive Simulations of Bionic Vision
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.10813