The Effects of Depth and Eccentricity on Visual Search in a Depth Display

by Reis, George Angelo

The attribute of depth has been shown to provide saliency or conspicuity for items in a visual search task. Novel displays that present information in real physical depth offer potential benefits. Previous research has studied depth in visual search but depth was mostly realized without real physical separation of display elements. This study aimed to better understand the effects of real physical depth and eccentricity on visual search in a depth display. Through this understanding, we can appropriately utilize this new technology. An experiment was conducted to test four hypotheses regarding how depth, eccentricity, target feature, and screen location would affect target acquisition speed. An ANOVA of the experiment's data suggests that physical depth can enhance the target search speed, especially when combined with other attributes for guiding attention. Visual search performance can be hampered when eccentricity increases for the target item. In addition, there seem to be interactions between target attributes and eccentricity.