University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Computer and Information Science

Research on Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) has typically involved 2D displays where stimuli move in a single depth plane. However, under natural conditions, objects move in 3D which adds complexity to tracking. According to the spatial interference model, tracked objects have an inhibitory surround that when crossed causes tracking errors. How do these inhibitory fields translate to 3D space? Does multiple object tracking operate on a 2D planar projection, or is it in fact 3D? To investigate this, we used a fully immersive virtual-reality environment where participants were required to track 1 to 4 moving objects. We compared performance to a condition where participants viewed the same stimuli on a computer screen with monocular depth cues. Results suggest that participants were more accurate in the VR condition than the computer screen condition. This demonstrates interference is negligent when the objects are spatially distant, yet proximate within the 2D projection. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection