Current research in the use of head mounted TV cameras to study depth perception on flat screens

The perception of distance or depth in flat screen images tends to suffer (a) due to conflicts between different sources of information concerning depth or for short depth cues and (b) due to the absence of some depth cues. Experiments are currently under way using an apparatus which couples head movements of the observer to camera movements. The observer looks at a flat screen which shows the images recorded by the camera which is directed at a 3D real world stimulus scene. The observer cannot see the real world stimulus. While the head of the observer is stationary, so is the flat screen image; head movement causes motion in the image. Pilot studies showed a clear advantage for head movement: depth perception was more accurate. There is some tentative data suggesting that this is the case only for images devoid of other strong depth cues. A study in which ground plane information was available did not lead to improved depth perception. Since these data are still very preliminary, the author only discusses some of the general issues involved in the research