Data for: Using Virtual Reality to Investigate the Visual Features that Determine the Effectiveness of Disruptive Camouflage

These data were collected as part of a PhD project titled 'Using Virtual Reality to Investigate the Visual Features that Determine the Effectiveness of Disruptive Camouflage'. This project had two general objectives: to examine the visual features that make disruptive camouflage and edge enhancement effective, and the development, creation, and testing of camouflage principles with virtual reality technology. To achieve these objectives the thesis is divided into two sets of studies: 2-dimensional experimentation and 3-dimensional experimentation. Full methodological details can be found within the thesis. These data are quantitative, utilising response times and survival as a proxy measure for camouflage effectiveness.

Chapters 4 and 5 utilise 2-Dimensional (computer-based) experimentation to examine the effectiveness of disruptive camouflage and edge enhancement. Chapter 4 examines how spectral and spatial features may impact camouflage effectiveness, and seeks to determine the relative importance of these two features, using a computer detection experiment. However, only a portion of the parameter space is examined, and therefore Chapter 5 makes use of machine learning techniques (i.e., neural networks and genetic algorithms) to explore a larger portion of the parameter space. As a result, two main models are developed, which can generate camouflage patterns when provided with a background image. Subsequently, the performance of these models are examined in an online computer-detection experiment.

Chapters 6 and 7 utilise 3-Dimensional (virtual reality based) experimentation to examine the effectiveness of disruptive camouflage and edge enhancement. Chapter 6 uses a detection-based experiment to examine how contrast difference in disruptive camouflage and edge enhancement impact camouflage effectiveness. The environment generated differs from the typical computer detection experiments as the participant is immersed with 360 degree photo. Chapter 7 is similar to Chapter 6, however the environment is fully 3D (i.e., the background is comprised of digital assets).