Influence of binocular disparity in depth perception mechanisms in virtual environments

Abstract

In this chapter, an experimental study is presented for evaluating the importance of binocular disparity in depth perception within a Virtual Environment (VE), which is assumed to be critical in many manipulation tasks. In this research work, two assumptions are made: Size cues strongly contaminate depth perception mechanisms and binocular disparity optimizes depth perception for manipulation tasks in VE. The results outline size cues as possible cause of depth perception degradation and binocular disparity as an important factor in depth perception, whose influence is altered by the position within a VE. © 2009 Springer-Verlag London.