The influence of optical distortions and transverse chromatic aberrations on motion parallax and stereopsis in natural and artificial environments

This chapter examines the potential effects of optical distortions and transverse chromatic aberration on the perception of depth. In particular, I will emphasize the role of motion parallax and stereoscopic vision. Motion parallax implies that the perception of depth can be extracted from a temporal sequence of images that contain different perspectives while stereopsis is the binocular depth perception derived from the disparate views of the two eyes for the same visual scene. It will be argued that motion parallax alone will generate a strong sense of depth, even in the absence of stereoscopic cues. Studies directly comparing motion parallax and stereoscopy will be presented showing that, under certain conditions, these cues can be equally efficient and that there can be an additive effect when both cues are present. A theoretical discussion on how the effect of optical distortions and chromatic aberrations can influence motion parallax and stereopsis from a viewer’s perspective will follow. Particular emphasis will be placed on the consequences of optical distortions produced by progressive addition lenses used to correct for presbyopia on motion parallax. We will also discuss how natural and induced transverse chromatic aberrations interact with perceptual phenomena to generate depth illusions. Finally, research avenues will be proposed to answer some of the theoretical and practical issues related to motion parallax in both natural and artificial environments.