Gaze-Dependent depth-of-field effect rendering in virtual environments

This paper presents gaze-dependent depth-of-field (DOF) rendering setup, consisting of high frequency eye tracker connected to a graphics workstation. A scene is rendered and visualised with the DOF simulation controlled by data captured with the eye tracker. To render a scene in real-time, the reverse-mapped z-buffer DOF simulation technique with the blurring method based on Poisson disk is used. We conduct perceptual experiments to test human impressions caused by simulation of the DOF phenomenon and to assess benefits of using eye tracker to control the DOF effect rendering in virtual environments. Additionally, we survey the eye tracking technologies suitable for virtual environments and preview techniques of the real time DOF rendering.