Distortions in perceived depth from conflicting ordinal and metric depth cues. Au, D., Wilcox, L., & Allison, R. In CSBBCS 2025, pages 114. 2025. abstract bibtex In the natural environment, we rely on multiple cues including binocular disparity, occlusion, retinal size, and proprioception to construct a stable and coherent percept of three-dimensional space. These cues are typically consistent, supporting accurate depth perception. However, when these cues conflict—such as in augmented reality (AR) where virtual objects may not align with real-world occlusions—systematic distortions in perceived depth can arise. Here, we evaluated the combined effects of occlusion and binocular disparity using a depth matching paradigm in AR. The virtual stimulus was a green letter `A' presented using a Microsoft HoloLens 2. It was optically superimposed on a physical surface with variable transparency at a fixed distance. The target letter was placed at a range of distances, including the surface location. Observers were asked to indicate the remembered location of the letter. We found that errors are particularly pronounced when a virtual object is positioned beyond a real-world occluder, introducing conflicts between occlusion and binocular disparity. Our results show consistent underestimation of perceived depth that increases along with the disparity of the virtual target. The magnitude of this error is modulated by the opacity of the occluding surface, but is present even when additional depth information is provided through retinal size cues and proprioceptive input. These findings underscore the importance of ordinal depth cues. Even in the presence of a metric depth cue as strong as binocular disparity, incorrect occlusion consistently biases perceived depth magnitude across different viewing conditions. Our results provide insight into how the brain integrates these different sources of depth information and speak to the importance of accurate rendering of occlusion arrangements in AR environments.
@incollection{Au:2025ab,
abstract = {In the natural environment, we rely on multiple cues including binocular disparity, occlusion, retinal
size, and proprioception to construct a stable and coherent percept of three-dimensional space. These
cues are typically consistent, supporting accurate depth perception. However, when these cues
conflict---such as in augmented reality (AR) where virtual objects may not align with real-world
occlusions---systematic distortions in perceived depth can arise. Here, we evaluated the combined
effects of occlusion and binocular disparity using a depth matching paradigm in AR. The virtual
stimulus was a green letter `A' presented using a Microsoft HoloLens 2. It was optically
superimposed on a physical surface with variable transparency at a fixed distance. The target letter
was placed at a range of distances, including the surface location. Observers were asked to indicate
the remembered location of the letter. We found that errors are particularly pronounced when a
virtual object is positioned beyond a real-world occluder, introducing conflicts between occlusion
and binocular disparity. Our results show consistent underestimation of perceived depth that
increases along with the disparity of the virtual target. The magnitude of this error is modulated by
the opacity of the occluding surface, but is present even when additional depth information is
provided through retinal size cues and proprioceptive input. These findings underscore the
importance of ordinal depth cues. Even in the presence of a metric depth cue as strong as binocular
disparity, incorrect occlusion consistently biases perceived depth magnitude across different viewing
conditions. Our results provide insight into how the brain integrates these different sources of depth
information and speak to the importance of accurate rendering of occlusion arrangements in AR
environments.},
annote = {CSBBCS 2025 July, 2025 Dundee Scotland
https://www.csbbcs.org/fileadmin/csbbcs/storage/EPS_-_CSBBCS_Dundee_Programme.pdf},
author = {Domenic Au and Laurie Wilcox and Robert Allison},
booktitle = {CSBBCS 2025},
date-added = {2025-07-26 06:40:28 -0400},
date-modified = {2025-07-26 06:40:28 -0400},
keywords = {Stereopsis},
pages = {114},
title = {Distortions in perceived depth from conflicting ordinal and metric depth cues.},
year = {2025}}
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It was optically superimposed on a physical surface with variable transparency at a fixed distance. The target letter was placed at a range of distances, including the surface location. Observers were asked to indicate the remembered location of the letter. We found that errors are particularly pronounced when a virtual object is positioned beyond a real-world occluder, introducing conflicts between occlusion and binocular disparity. Our results show consistent underestimation of perceived depth that increases along with the disparity of the virtual target. The magnitude of this error is modulated by the opacity of the occluding surface, but is present even when additional depth information is provided through retinal size cues and proprioceptive input. These findings underscore the importance of ordinal depth cues. 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These\ncues are typically consistent, supporting accurate depth perception. However, when these cues\nconflict---such as in augmented reality (AR) where virtual objects may not align with real-world\nocclusions---systematic distortions in perceived depth can arise. Here, we evaluated the combined\neffects of occlusion and binocular disparity using a depth matching paradigm in AR. The virtual\nstimulus was a green letter `A' presented using a Microsoft HoloLens 2. It was optically\nsuperimposed on a physical surface with variable transparency at a fixed distance. The target letter\nwas placed at a range of distances, including the surface location. Observers were asked to indicate\nthe remembered location of the letter. We found that errors are particularly pronounced when a\nvirtual object is positioned beyond a real-world occluder, introducing conflicts between occlusion\nand binocular disparity. 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