Analysis of depth perception with virtual mask in stereoscopic AR

Abstract

A practical application of Augmented Reality (AR) is see-through vision, a technique that enables a user to observe an inner object located behind a real object by superimposing the virtually visualized inner object onto the real object surface (for example, pipes and cables behind a wall or under a floor). A challenge in such applications is to provide proper depth perception when an inner virtual object image is overlaid on a real object. To improve depth perception in AR, we propose a method that overlays a random-dot mask on the real object surface. This method conveys to the observers the illusion of observing the virtual object through many small holes. We named this perception stereoscopic pseudo-transparency. Our experiments investigated (1) the effectiveness of the proposed method in improving the depth perception between the real object surface and the virtual object compared to existing methods, and (2) whether the proposed method can be used in an actual AR environment.