The purpose of this study was to explore the use of three-dimensional display formats for judgments of spatial information using an exocentric frame of reference. Eight subjects judged the azimuth and elevation that separated two computer-generated objects using either a perspective or stereoscopic display. Errors, which consisted of the difference in absolute value between the estimated and actual azimuth or elevation, were analyzed as the response variable. The data revealed that the stereoscopic display resulted in more accurate estimates of elevation, especially for images aligned approximately orthogonally to the viewing vector. However, estimates of relative azimuth direction were not improved by use of the stereoscopic display. It was also shown that the effect of compression resulting from a 45-deg computer graphics eye point elevation produced a response bias that was symmetrical around the horizontal plane of the reference cube, and that the depth cue of binocular disparity provided by the stereoscopic display reduced the magnitude of the compression errors. Implications of the results for the design of spatial displays are discussed.
Abstract