Enhancing Dazzling Sensation through Pseudo-Blink and Afterimage Presentation in Virtual Reality

Humans sometimes encounter dazzling light in everyday life, such as sunlight or high-beam headlights, which often evoke instinctive biological responses like blinking and afterimages. Accurately reproducing such phenomena is essential for enhancing realism in virtual reality (VR), especially in scenarios like training simulations or entertainment experiences. While conventional methods either rely on high-luminance displays or simulate isolated perceptual effects such as glare, few approaches have explored the combination of multiple physiological responses to intensify brightness perception without using physically intense light sources. This study addresses the gap by investigating how pseudo-blinking and afterimage presentation, in addition to glare effects, can enhance the dazzling sensation in VR. We developed a novel system that synchronizes screen darkening with skin-deformation-like vibration stimuli around the eyes to simulate a blink reflex, followed by gaze-dependent afterimage presentation that dynamically transitions to complementary colors in response to user blinking. Experimental results with 19 participants revealed that both pseudo-blinking and afterimage effects significantly enhanced the perceived dazzling sensation and realism. These findings suggest that simulating involuntary physiological reactions to light in VR can evoke strong perceptual impressions, enabling safe and cost-effective glare expression.