The effects of motion and stereopsis on three-dimensional visualization.

Previous studies have demonstrated that motion cues combined with stereoscopic viewing can enhance the perception of three-dimensional objects displayed on a two-dimensional computer screen. Using a variant of the mental rotation paradigm, subjects view pairs of object images presented on a computer terminal and judge whether the objects are the same or different. The effects of four variables on the accuracy and speed of decision performances are assessed: stereo vs. mono viewing, controlled vs. uncontrolled object motion, cube vs. sphere construction and wire frame vs. solid surface characteristic. Viewing the objects as three-dimensional images results in more accurate and faster decision performances. Furthermore, accuracy improves although response time increases when subjects control the object motion. Subjects are equally accurate comparing wire frame and solid images, although they take longer comparing wire frame images. The cube-based or sphere-based object construction has no impact on decision accuracy nor response time.