Analyzing effects of geometric rendering parameters on size and distance estimation in on-axis stereographics

Accurate perception of size and distance in a three-dimensional virtual environment is important for many applications. However, several experiments have revealed that spatial perception of virtual environments often deviates from the real world, even when the virtual scene is modeled as an accurate replica of a familiar physical environment. While previous research has elucidated various factors that can facilitate perceptual shifts, the effects of geometric rendering parameters on spatial cues are still not well understood. In this paper, we model and evaluate effects of spatial transformations caused by variations of the geometric field of view and the interpupillary distance in on-axis stereographic display environments. We evaluated different predictions in a psychophysical experiment in which subjects were asked to judge distance and size properties of virtual objects placed in a realistic virtual scene. Our results suggest that variations in the geometric field of view have a strong influence on distance judgments, whereas variations in the geometric interpupillary distance mainly affect size judgments.

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