Effect of Display Technology on Perceived Scale of Space

Abstract

Objective: Our goal was to evaluate the degree to which display technologies influence the perception of size in an image. Background: Research suggests that factors such as whether an image is displayed stereoscopically, whether a user’s viewpoint is tracked, and the field of view of a given display can affect users’ perception of scale in the displayed image. Method: Participants directly estimated the size of a gap by matching the distance between their hands to the gap width and judged their ability to pass unimpeded through the gap in one of five common implementations of three display technologies (two head-mounted displays [HMD] and a back-projection screen). Results: Both measures of gap width were similar for the two HMD conditions and the back projection with stereo and tracking. For the displays without tracking, stereo and monocular conditions differed from each other, with monocular viewing showing underestimation of size. Conclusions: Display technologies that are capable of stereoscopic display and tracking of the user’s viewpoint are beneficial as perceived size does not differ from real-world estimates. Evaluations of different display technologies are necessary as display conditions vary and the availability of different display technologies continues to grow. Applications: The findings are important to those using display technologies for research, commercial, and training purposes when it is important for the displayed image to be perceived at an intended scale.