Development of a tool that increases / reverses the user's binocular parallax with optical elements to change the feeling of depth of a physical object

Abstract

In daily situation such as driving a car or playing a ball sport, the feeling of depth is important to understand the distance between an object and a performer. There decline in a feeling of depth due to aging influences on performance. Furthermore, because many people may be unaware of a decline in their feeling of depth, it is typically thought that it's difficult to monitor the degree of change in a person's feeling of depth correctly and to prepare the person for the decline. Authors thus intend to propose a unique experience of simulating a change in the feeling of depth relating to aging. The present paper explains a method and a tool for changing the feeling of depth of a physical object in real environment. We focused on the influence on a feeling of depth by changing only binocular parallax, and constructed a tool that increases / reverses the user's binocular parallax. In consideration of tiredness resulting from a long time use, we designed the tool to conform optical information received when using the tool to that received when observing physical objects directly. Through the movement of objective mirrors and ocular prisms, the tool changes the user's binocular parallax arbitrarily. It was reported from experiences that the feeling of depth changed by using this tool.