Indoor vs. Outdoor Depth Perception for Mobile Augmented Reality

We tested users' depth perception of virtual objects in our mobile augmented reality (AR) system in both indoor and outdoor environments using a depth matching task. The indoor environment is characterized by strong linear perspective cues; we attempted to re-create these cues in the outdoor environment. In the indoor environment, we found an overall pattern of underestimation of depth that is typical for virtual environments and AR systems. However, in the outdoor environment, we found that subjects overestimated depth. In addition, our synthetic linear perspective cues met with a measure of success, leading users to reduce their estimate of the depth of distant objects. We describe the experimental procedure, analyze the data, present the results of the study, and discuss the implications for mobile, outdoor AR systems.