Binocular Rivalry and Head-Worn Displays

Abstract

Objective: We provide a review and analysis of much of the published literature on binocular rivalry that is relevant to the design and use of head-worn displays (HWDs). Background: This review draws heavily from both the basic vision literature and applied HWD literature in order to help provide insight for minimizing the effects of binocular rivalry when HWDs are worn. Method: Included in this review are articles and books found cited in other works as well as articles and books obtained from an Internet search. Results: Issues discussed and summarized are (a) characteristics of binocular rivalry, (b) stimulus factors affecting rivalry, (c) cognitive variables affecting rivalry, and (d) tasks affected by rivalry. Conclusion: This paper offers a set of recommendations for minimizing the effects of binocular rivalry when HWDs are used as well as recommendations for future research. Application: Considerations of the basic vision literature on binocular rivalry will provide insight for future design solutions for HWDs.

Binocular vision

“…Moreover, interest in rivalry spread beyond visual science into clinical psychiatry (Nagamine et al, 2009), gerontology (Norman et al, 2007), neurology (Bonneh et al, 2004; Valle-Inclan & Gallego, 2006), physics (Loxley & Robinson, 2009; Manousakis, 2009), human factors (Patterson et al, 2007), statistics (van der Ven et al, 2005) and philosophy (Cosmelli & Thompson, 2007). Reviews of contemporary work on rivalry can be found in several sources including an edited volume (Alais & Blake, 2005), review articles (Blake & Logothetis, 2002; Tong et al, 2006), chapters (Blake & O Shea, 2009) and the world-wide web (Scholarpedia and Wikipedia).…”

Patient monitoring with head-mounted displays

“…Monocular HMDs are simpler, cheaper, and lighter than binocular displays, but they may cause perceptual issues such as binocular rivalry where each eye sees a different image, potentially leading to clear, high-contrast images becoming suppressed [14,29]. Conversely, binocular displays can result in other perceptual problems such as convergence mismatches [1,12].…”

Visibility of monocular symbology in transparent head-mounted display applications

“…Some research suggests that rivalry is influenced by conscious attention, while other research suggest that it is primarily driven by low level stimulus factors 15 We have previously described how a variety of human factors issues has affected (and sometimes discouraged) the use of HMDs, 2 and more specifically, we have described the factors that may affect the occurrence of binocular rivalry in HMDs. 16 These factors have been studied extensively under classic rivalry conditions (where completely different images are presented to the two eyes, for example, a vertical grating in one eye and a horizontal grating in the other eye) and include orientation difference, 17 contour density, 18 spatial frequency, 19 color, 20 and motion. 21,22 Here, we focus on two factors (motion and target contrast) that may affect binocular rivalry in a specific situation -the viewing of monocularly presented information against a background viewed binocularly.…”