The Role of Stereopsis in Aviation: Literature Review
Abstract
Spatial awareness, or the ability to relate one's position to surrounding objects, is generally considered essential for military aviation. Depth perception is of particular importance, as many military aviation maneuvers rely on accurate judgment of distance to be performed with accuracy. The phenomenon of depth perception is a summation of both monocular and binocular cues. Monocular cues are psychological in nature and are learned skills based on life experiences. Stereopsis, on the other hand, is a binocular physiological cue that results from simultaneous fusion of two disparate retinal images that results in perception of a third dimension. The role of depth perception and stereopsis in flying has been a topic of interest since the birth of aviation medicine. This paper is a review of the literature on this topic. Based on the summations of the studies reviewed in this paper, it seems reasonable to conclude that stereopsis plays some role in judging depth in the course of performing aviation tasks. However, despite the extensive efforts invested in pursuing the role of stereopsis in aviation, a knowledge gap clearly exists to this day. Perhaps the biggest challenge has been the fact that in field studies it is difficult to isolate monocular and binocular cues, short of occlusive methods, which artificially alter the normal binocular field. Further, it is difficult to recreate environments where monocular cues may be subject to illusion. Perhaps a more viable approach is through three-dimensional rendering using computer displays. This would allow for control of monocular and binocular cues and each could be manipulated to assess the relative value in performance-specific tasks requiring judgment of depth.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA586399
Entities
People
- John M. Gooch
- Steve Hadley
- Steve Wright
Organizations
- United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine