Depth-fused multi-focal plane displays enable accurate depth perception

Many different approaches to three-dimensional (3-D) displays have been explored, most of which are considered to be stereoscopic-type. The stereoscopic-type displays create depth perception by presenting two perspective images, one for each eye, of a 3D scene from two slightly different viewing positions. They have been the dominant technology adopted for many applications, spanning the fields of flight simulation, scientific visualization, medicine, engineering design, education and training, and entertainment systems. Existing stereoscopic displays, however, lack the ability to produce accurate focus cues, which have been suggested to contribute to various visual artifacts such as visual fatigue. This paper will review some recent work on vari- and multi-focal plane display technologies that are capable of rendering nearly correct focus cues for 3D objects and these technologies have great promise of enabling more accurate depth perception for 3D tasks.