Why is this man smiling? It may be because he has one of the best jobs in the world, at least through my eyes. Phil Lelyveld manages the Consumer 3D Experience Lab at USC film school’s Entertainment Technology Center. The Lab, which is funded in part by the CTOs of the six major Hollywood studios, addresses stereoscopic 3D in the home, on personal devices, in public spaces, in advertising, and in theatres.
Mr. Lelyveld has turned his attention to health aspects of stereoscopic 3D vision (S3D). His executive briefing on the subject is well worth reading:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1163500
Equally informative is his presentation on S3D as an intersection of art, technology and the human visual system.
http://www.slideshare.net/Frankwatching/phil-lelyveld
Among Levlyeld’s many observations is the following: “Consumers don’t buy technology, they buy the experiences that technology delivers”. That brings to mind an insight from Bernard Mendiburu, who attributes it to Josh Greer: “Stereopsis is more like a feeling than a perception“.
In working with patients who have binocular vision problems, we often use S3D as an index of binocular function, emphasizing not stereoacuity and vergence ranges, but the development of degrees of freedom between accommodation and vergence. These factors, along with sensitivity to binocular stereoscopic motion parallax, and a phenomenon known as “SILO”, are likely to be key determinants of what Lelyveld refers to as health aspects of S3D viewing.
In some instances we find that individuals will benefit from a change in spectacle lens prescription, possibly incorporating prism, that makes sustained S3D viewing more attainable. In other instances active vision therapy is required to re-train the visual brain, and provide the cognitive resources necessary to envelop oneself in S3D.
– Leonard J. Press, O.D., FCOVD, FAAO
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