I’ve just come back from another fun morning working with Gareth down at Fluid Pixel. We are working on fine-tuning the critical 3D test image which we will be using to assess vision. Basically, it’s a pattern of small, colourful dots strewn randomly over the screen. On one side of the screen, a square patch of dots stands out in depth. The user’s job will be to spot this patch.  We are using this stimulus because it offers very little information, other than that provided by the 3D itself. In the vision science literature, it’s known as a dynamic random-dot stereogram, and it’s one of the most rigorous tests of binocular visual function.

We streamlined the code, fixed a few bugs and experimented with different dot sizes and densities.  I think the 3D patch is looking a lot clearer now. Tomorrow, Gareth and I will be sitting down again to work on the computer code which will control how demanding the test is. The basic idea is to start off easy and get harder, but it’s amazing how many ways there are of doing that!

Author: Jenny Read