The zone of comfort: Predicting visual discomfort with stereo displays

Abstract

Recent increased usage of stereo displays has been accompanied by public concern about potential adverse effects associated with prolonged viewing of stereo imagery. There are numerous potential sources of adverse effects, but we focused on how vergence–accommodation conflicts in stereo displays affect visual discomfort and fatigue. In one experiment, we examined the effect of viewing distance on discomfort and fatigue. We found that conflicts of a given dioptric value were slightly less comfortable at far than at near distance. In a second experiment, we examined the effect of the sign of the vergence–accommodation conflict on discomfort and fatigue. We found that negative conflicts (stereo content behind the screen) are less comfortable at far distances and that positive conflicts (content in front of screen) are less comfortable at near distances. In a third experiment, we measured phoria and the zone of clear single binocular vision, which are clinical measurements commonly associated with correcting refractive error. Those measurements predicted susceptibility to discomfort in the first two experiments. We discuss the relevance of these findings for a wide variety of situations including the viewing of mobile devices, desktop displays, television, and cinema.

The personal cockpit

“…This effect occurs when the proprioceptive cues of focus and vergence become decoupled in stereoscopic environments [161,184]. Until this issue is circumvented by technological advancements (e.g.…”

“…Until this issue is circumvented by technological advancements (e.g. [97]), HWD designers can reduce unpleasant effects by keeping the depth of virtual objects close to the surface of the virtual image plane [184,213].…”

“…Laster SmartVision), supporting objects in the near field. We emulate an image plane distance (Figure 12) of 1 m, about the expected limit for use with direct input [184,213]. As with FoV, this choice serves as a worst-case setting in which we evaluate the human-factors aspects of our design.…”

Non-uniform Depth Compression Control Algorithm for 3D Real Time Video Detection

“…There are many factors tha cause visual fatigue, but a large number of research point that greater perceived depth range is one of the main reasons causing visual discomfort and visual fatigue [5][6][7]. When watching the stereoscopic images, there is a suitable depth range, as Fig.…”

The Effects of Roll Misalignment Errors, Shooting Distance, and Vergence Condition of 3D Camera on 3D Visual Fatigue

“…수렴-조절 불일치는 인위적으로 3D 정보인 양안시차를 전달하고자 하는 현재의 3D 디스플레이 기술의 한계이다. 시각피로를 유발하는 디스 플레이 요인은 이외에도 왼 쪽 눈에 입력되는 영상이 오른 쪽에도 일부 입력되어 발생하는 크로스톡 요인이 있다 [5] . 디 스플레이 요인 이외에 콘텐츠 요인, 시청자 요인 그리고 시 청환경요인 등이 시각피로 유발요인으로 지목되고 있다 [6] [7] .…”