A Design Space for Vision Augmentations and Augmented Human Perception using Digital Eyewear

Abstract

Head-mounted displays were originally introduced to directly present computer-generated information to the human eye. More recently, the potential to use this kind of technology to support human vision and augment human perception has become actively pursued with applications such as compensating for visual impairments or aiding unimpaired vision. Unfortunately, a systematic analysis of the field is missing. Within this work, we close that gap by presenting a design space for vision augmentations that allows research to systematically explore the field of digital eyewear for vision aid and how it can augment the human visual system. We test our design space against currently available solutions and conceptually develop new solutions. The design space and findings can guide future development and can lead to a consistent categorisation of the many existing approaches.