Dichoptic Opacity: Managing Occlusion in Stereoscopic Displays via Dichoptic Presentation

TL;DR

This paper introduces dichoptic opacity, a novel method for managing occlusion in stereoscopic displays by contrasting transparency between eyes, improving depth perception and user understanding.

Contribution

The paper proposes dichoptic opacity as a new technique for occlusion management in stereoscopic displays, enhancing depth perception without losing important information.

Findings

Users preferred dichoptic opacity over traditional methods.

The technique shows promising trends in transparency levels.

User engagement was high in the study.

Abstract

Adjusting transparency is a common method of mitigating occlusion but is often detrimental for understanding the relative depth relationships between objects as well as removes potentially important information from the occluding object. We propose using dichoptic opacity, a novel method for occlusion management that contrasts the transparency of occluders presented to each eye. This allows for better simultaneous understanding of both occluder and occluded. A user study highlights the technique's potential, showing strong user engagement and a clear preference for dichoptic opacity over traditional presentations. While it does not determine optimal transparency values, it reveals promising trends in both percentage and range that merit further investigation.