drascic@ie.utoronto.ca
To that end, a practical Stereoscopic Video (SV) system was developed that is compatible with standard video display and recording equipment. Two experiments were conducted to examine the potential benefits of SV for teleoperation, with particular emphasis on the effect of experience.
The first experiment examined the issue of whether it was easier to learn how to interpret a SV display than a standard monoscopic video (MV) display. Using a task that had very little demand for binocular depth cues (i.e. was SV-independent), it was found that there was a benefit in performance due to SV that diminished as the operators learned how to use the monocular cues of the MV display. Furthermore, the first experiment provided evidence to suggest that SV can be used effectively with little or no training, while MV requires a period of adjustment and learning.
The first experiment also revealed an interesting transient effect that changing from one video condition to another can have on performance. Those who change from an SV to a MV display show a temporary but dramatic drop in performance, while those who change from a MV to an SV display show a large improvement in performance. The results of the experiment and the literature suggest that the differing appearances of "reality" of the two displays may affect the confidence of the operators in their abilities to perform the task, and so therefore affect their performance.
The second experiment examined the second issue, that of how the transience of the benefits of SV are a function of the difficulty of the task and the dependence on binocular depth cues. It showed that the benefits of SV, even after a great deal of practice, will still be apparent for difficult tasks, long after the benefits have faded for easier tasks.