Cite as:
Jobling J T, Mansfield J S, Legge G E, Menge M R, 1997, "Motion parallax: effects of blur, contrast, and field size in normal and low vision" Perception 26(12) 1529 – 1538
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Motion parallax: effects of blur, contrast, and field size in normal and low vision

Jeremy T Jobling, J Stephen Mansfield, Gordon E Legge, Mark R Menge

Received 7 January 1997, in revised form 16 September 1997

Abstract. Can people with different forms of low vision use motion parallax to improve depth judgments? We used a staircase method to compare depth thresholds using motion parallax and static viewing. We tested eighteen normal-vision subjects with a range of simulated deficits in acuity, contrast sensitivity, and simulated peripheral-field loss, and ten low-vision subjects with a wide range of acuity, contrast sensitivity, and field loss. Subjects viewed three vertical cylinders monocularly and indicated which one was at a different depth from the other two. For motion-parallax trials, observers moved their heads (in a viewing assembly on rollers) from side to side over a range of 6 - 12 cm. For static trials, the viewing assembly was fixed in place. Normal-vision subjects' depth thresholds with motion parallax were significantly smaller than those with static viewing by an average factor of 1.95 (p < 0.05) across all levels of acuity and contrast. For low-vision observers, the depth thresholds exhibited large individual differences; however, the motion-parallax thresholds were smaller than the static thresholds by an average factor of 2.05 (p < 0.01). These findings indicate that motion parallax can provide useful depth information for people with low vision.

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