Near-correct Ocular Accommodation Responses to a 3d Display, Using Multiple Image Planes and Depth Filtering

Abstract

Conventional stereo displays provide incorrect focus cues because the image is presented on a single surface. This is known to cause a number of aversive symptoms in users, including fatigue and discomfort. Multiple-focal-plane displays have been proposed as a solution to this problem. In principle, a continuous range of focal distances can be simulated by distributing image intensity across multiple focal planes - a technique referred to as depth filtering. Here we evaluate this approach by measuring the focusing responses of the human eye (accommodation) to focal distances simulated in this way. We found that changes in simulated distance led to an appropriate change in accommodation. Moreover, responses could not be distinguished from those to real focal distances.We conclude that depth-filtered images can stimulate the eye's focusing response appropriately, and so could offer significant improvements to stereo displays.