2009 Volume 11 Issue 4 Pages 429-436
When we get closer to an object, the size of its image on retinas becomes bigger; and it becomes smaller when we move away. However, we don't perceive that the actual size of the object has changed. This phenomenon is known as 'size constancy'. We perceive an invariable 'size' although the size of the image on the retinas changes every moment. Therefore, we can say that the act of perceiving the size of an object by watching is an active and dynamic act. In this report, we propose a display method that would help users to perceive photographed objects intuitively by using 'size constancy'. A user prepares photographs of objects they are familiar with, and put them on an original background. The user can move the photographs freely on the original background, on which the display sizes of the photographs are automatically modified so as to be in the same reduction/enlargement rate with the background. On this original background, the size of the photograph changes keeping 'size constancy'. The user can perceive the sizes of the objects intuitively by unconsciously comparing them. The effectiveness of this display method is verified by the experiment.
