A modified model of the just noticeable depth difference and its application to depth sensation enhancement

The just noticeable depth difference (JNDD) describes the threshold of human perception of the difference in the depth. In flat-panel-based three-dimensional (3-D) displays, the JNDD is typically measured by changing the depth difference between displayed image objects until the difference is perceivable. However, not only the depth, but also the perceived size changes when the depth difference increases. In this paper, we present a modified JNDD measurement method that adjusts the physical size of the object such that the perceived size of the object is maintained. We then apply the proposed JNDD measurement method to depth sensation enhancement. When the depth value difference between the objects is increased to enable the viewer to perceive the depth difference, the size of the objects is adjusted to maintain the perceived size of the objects. In addition, since the size change of the objects can produce a whole region, a depth-adaptive hole-inpainting technique is proposed to compensate for the hole region with high accuracy. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.