Stereoscopic viewing facilitates the perception of crowds

In this study the perception of crowds was investigated in urban environment. The images of crowds were viewed non-stereoscopically and stereoscopically with HMD (head-mounted display). The task of the participants was to count the number of persons in the crowds. The results clearly indicate that stereoscopic viewing enhances perception of crowds. The counting task was determined to be easiest with stereoscopic viewing, its error rate was significantly smaller and it was significantly preferred to non-stereoscopic viewing. The viewing method did not differ statistically with respect to the completion time.