A Comparative Analysis of Fish Tank Virtual Reality to Stereo- scopic 3D Imagery

Stereoscopy is commonly used in film and interactive media to provide depth perception, but is not the only method available to meet this need. This paper examines fish tank virtual reality as an alternative to stereoscopy. A study was conducted using three methods of depth perception projection: a stereoscopic image, a fish tank virtual reality (VR) image, and a combination of stereoscopic and the fish tank VR images. Results indicate that the combination of Fish Tank VR and stereoscopy was most preferred by participants, followed by the fish tank VR system for providing depth perception., The traditional anaglyph stereoscopy method was least preferred by the participants. Introduction Stereoscopy is the primary method in which to convey depth perception in film and interactive media, but can present a plethora of problems to individual viewers. A proposal of an alternative solution to depth perception is Fish Tank Virtual Reality, which is less expensive, easier to implement, and may span a larger audience. Fish Tank Virtual Reality is a perspective projection coupled to the head position of the observer. Fish Tank Virtual Reality, Head-coupled Perspective, or Eye-coupled Perspective is the characterization of “systems where a stereo image of a three-dimensional scene is viewed on a monitor using a perspective projection coupled to the head position of the observer” (Mulder & Van Liere, 2000). In such a system, the illusion of depth is created through the use of tracking an individual’s location in threedimensional space and subsequently displaying the images with the correct perspective. Colin Ware, most notable for his endeavors into data visualization, coined the term “Fish Tank VR” in 1993 to overcome the seclusion created by other methods available at the time (Ware, Arthur, & Booth, 1993). Although Fish Tank Virtual Reality (known as Fish Tank VR from here on out) has been around for several decades, it has not received the same recognition as another form of viewing three-dimensional content— stereoscopy. Stereoscopy is defined as “exploiting human binocular vision to give the illusion of depth to objects in an image or video” (Autodesk, 2008). However, there are a number of issues surrounding stereoscopy; most notably are eye strain, headaches, fatigue, and binocular anomalies (Lambooij, Fortuin, IJsselsteijn, & Heynderickx, 2009). Fish Tank VR touts several distinct advantages that are worth noting. These systems utilize higher resolutions, more brightness, increased crispness of images, and are more comfortable to wear (Demiralp,