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Binocular head-mounted displays (HMD) utilizing augmented reality (AR) strategies can greatly increase the information that reaches the visual system of the user. For example, binocular presentation allows for elements to appear in stereoscopic depth and with a higher perceived resolution and AR can improve the quality of a low visibility scene. But with two independent optical channels, a binocular HMD can easily become misaligned, which can potentially be detrimental to both performance and comfort (Gavrilescu et al., 2019; SPIE DCS). Here, we quantify the effect that global binocular misalignment in an HMD has on both operational and visual performance during a simulated flying task. Using a platform consisting of 3 85-inch displays providing out-the-window imagery and head-tracked AR overlay (e.g., DAS) within the HMD (Posselt et al., 2021; SPIE DCS), subjects were instructed to adhere to flight commands while periodically discriminating the orientation of a target aircraft. In different blocks the two optics of the HMD were either well-aligned, misaligned vertically by 0.67°, or rolled in opposite directions by 4°. In the well-aligned condition, subjects could discriminate the orientation of the target plane on average nearly 1000 ft farther than in either of the misaligned conditions. Curiously, adherence to the flight commands was affected only by the vertical misalignment, which may represent a strategy of selectively ignoring grossly misaligned imagery in one eye. These results obviate the need to quantify and maintain well-aligned visual channels in binocular HMDs that utilize AR imagery.
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