Abstract
The present study investigates the distortions in the perception of artificial stereoscopic displays seen from an inappropriate distance and/or orientation. Stereoscopic displays represent 3-D information correctly, provided they are seen from the correct station point. The viewing point may differ from the correct station point in its distance or in its orientation to the screen. These differences lead to distortions that can be predicted mathematically. However, the perceptual function may be different from the predictions, since people may possibly compensate for the distortions. To test the degree of this compensation, participants saw anaglyphic stereoscopic stimuli that showed angles in the horizontal plane, and their perception of the configuration was tested for various orientations and distances. The estimates were compared with the values predicted from the mathematical functions, and participants’ virtual positions were reconstructed via nonlinear regressions. The analyses revealed a moderate compensation for viewing orientations and a systematically overestimation of the viewing distances. These results indicate that people compensate partially for distortions in stereopsis, given that the relevant information is available.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cormack, R. H. (1984). Stereoscopic depth perception at far viewing distances.Perception & Psychophysics,35, 423–428.
Ellis, S. R., Tharp, G. K., Grunwald, A. J., &Smith, S. (1991). Exocentric judgments in real environments and stereoscopic displays. InProceedings of the Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting (pp. 1442–1446). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society.
Foley, J. M. (1980). Binocular distance perception.Psychological Review,87, 411–434.
Fox, R., Cormack, L., &Norman, J. F. (1987). The effect of vertical disparity on depth scaling.Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science,28 (Suppl.), 293.
Gogel, W. C. (1977). An indirect measure of perceived distance from oculomotor cues.Perception & Psychophysics,21, 3–11.
Goldstein, E. B. (1987). Spatial layout, orientation relative to the observer and perceived projection in pictures viewed at an angle.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,13, 256–266.
Grunwald, A. J., Ellis, S. R., &Smith, S. (1988). A mathematical model for spatial orientation from pictorial perspective displays.IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, & Cybernetics,18, 425–437.
Hagen, M. A. (1993). Where’s the camera?Ecological Psychology,5, 65–84.
Johnston, E. B. (1991). Systematic distortion of shape from stereopsis.Vision Research,31, 1351–1360.
Kubovy, M. (1986).The psychology of perspective and Renaissance art. London: Cambridge University Press.
Leiser, D., Bereby, Y., &Melkman, A. (1995). Stereoscopic projection and seating arrangements.Ergonomics,38, 1231–1238.
McGreevy, M. W., &Ellis, S. R. (1986). The effect of perspective geometry on judged direction in spatial information instruments.Human Factors,28, 439–456.
Ono, H., &Comerford, J. (1977). Stereoscopic depth constancy. In W. Epstein (Ed.),Stability and constancy in visual perception (pp. 91–128). New York: Wiley.
Patterson, R., Moe, L., &Hewitt, T. (1992). Factors that affect depth perception in stereoscopic displays.Human Factors,34, 655–667.
Pirenne, M. H. (1970).Optics, painting and photography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ritter, M. (1977). Effect of disparity and viewing distance on perceived depth.Perception & Psychophysics,22, 400–407.
Ritter, M. (1979). Perception of depth: Processing of simple positional disparity as a function of viewing distance.Perception & Psychophysics,25, 209–214.
Rosinski, R. R., Mulholland, T., Degelman, D., &Farber, J. (1980). Picture perception: An analysis of visual compensation.Perception & Psychophysics,28, 521–526.
Tittle, J. S., Todd, J. T., Perotti, V. J., &Norman, J. F. (1995). Systematic distortion of perceived three-dimensional structure from motion and binocular stereopsis.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,21, 663–678.
Todd, J. T., Tittle, J. S., &Norman, J. F. (1995). Distortions of three-dimensional space in the perceptual analysis of motion and stereo.Perception,24, 75–86.
Wallach, H., Gillam, B., &Cardillo, L. (1979). Some consequences of stereoscopic depth constancy.Perception & Psychophysics,26, 235–240.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was conducted under a grant from the Israeli Defense Ministry, Research and Development Branch.
—Accepted by previous editor. Myron L. Braunstein
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bereby-Meyer, Y., Leiser, D. & Meyer, J. Perception of artificial stereoscopic stimuli from an incorrect viewing point. Perception & Psychophysics 61, 1555–1563 (1999). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213117
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213117