Effect of ambient illumination level on perceived autostereoscopic display quality and depth perception

Twenty participants viewed real-world videos and still images with a small hand-held autostereoscopic device in three ambient illuminations with three display luminance levels. Perceived depth, naturalness, overall image quality, and viewing discomfort were evaluated. The results show that illumination and luminance levels influence perceived quality parameters, but perceived depth is less sensitive to changes in ambient illumination than other viewing quality parameters associated with 3D viewing. Viewing 3D scenes lasting up to 40 min may cause some mild eyestrain symptoms, but symptoms of visually induced motion sickness are rare. The use of autostereoscopic hand-held devices therefore seems feasible in different contexts with different display luminance levels, and the overall viewing experience is relatively comfortable for most of the adult viewers.

Research highlights
► Viewing 3D scenes lasting up to 40 min may cause some mild eyestrain symptoms.
► Ambient illumination and display luminance influence perceived image quality.
► Ambient illumination and display luminance influence perceived image naturalness.
► Perceived depth is relatively insensitive to changes in ambient illumination.