Abstract
Purpose: :
Depth perception is the ability to judge the relative spatial distance between objects. This poster presentation describes a new method to quantitatively measure depth perception. This new method has been tested on more than 100 human subjects.
Methods: :
In the following project, a quantitative depth perception (DP) scale was created. Values on the scale corresponded to a subject’s ability to determine spatial differences of 1-inch targets at a distance of 20 feet. The depth scale was in centimeters. A DP = 1 meant that a subject could correctly identify a 1 cm depth difference between the targets. A DP = 5 meant that a subject could correctly identify a 5 cm depth difference between the targets. A DP = 1 indicated the best depth perception ability. In order to test subjects, a depth perception instrument with three different visual targets was constructed.
Results: :
In order to test the validity of this new depth perception scale, we tested it on over 100 subjects. Approximately 2% had a DP=1, 22% had a DP=2, 38% had a DP=3, 20% had a DP =4, 9% had a DP of 5, and 9% had a DP >5.
Conclusions: :
The depth scale and depth perception instrument were successful in quantitatively assessing the depth perception of human subjects. The average human can correctly identify the closest of 3 targets when they vary by at least a distance of 3 cm. The ability to quantitatively measure depth perception is important because it enables us to get a better understanding of the visual ability of humans.
Keywords: binocular vision/stereopsis • image processing