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What is pupil swim?

phoenixdigital
Heroic Explorer

Can anyone explain what pupil swim is in detail?

I've seen people talk about it on internet forums but when asked nobody has really been able to explain what it is.

There are a lot of vague attempts all over the internet but nothing really talks about



  • what it is exactly?
  • specifically what physical processes cause it?
  • what are its effects on vision in VR?
  • why is it bad?
  • Is there an example I can try to "force" these effects on  Rift/Vive?
  • what are the technical reasons why the Rift apparently has worse pupil swim than the Vive?
  • How will eye tracking resolve it?


As an engineer not understanding how or why something works drives me mental.



I've seen explanations ranging from "the way an image distorts as you look at different parts of the lens" or "the way an image distorts as you turn your head in VR"

Can anyone clarify what it is?

CPU: i5 6600K (conservative overclock), GPU: Asus GTX1080Ti (not overclocked), motherboard: Asus Z170 Pro Gaming, USB Card 1: Inatek 4 Port, USB Card 2: Startek 2 Port
11 REPLIES 11

xWandererx
Heroic Explorer
Sod u Snowdog u beat me to it lol

danknugz
Superstar
i tested this last night and the sweet spot on my lenses mustbe huge, cause i really only noticed a very subtle bending of the lines, and i really had to tilt the hmd to the max and direct my gaze toward the top or bottom of the screen.
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing on forums?