DiCE: dichoptic contrast enhancement for VR and stereo displays

In stereoscopic displays, such as those used in VR/AR headsets, our eyes are presented with two different views. The disparity between the views is typically used to convey depth cues, but it could be also used to enhance image appearance. We devise a novel technique that takes advantage of binocular fusion to boost perceived local contrast and visual quality of images. Since the technique is based on fixed tone curves, it has negligible computational cost and it is well suited for real-time applications, such as VR rendering. To control the trade-off between contrast gain and binocular rivalry, we conduct a series of experiments to explain the factors that dominate rivalry perception in a dichoptic presentation where two images of different contrasts are displayed. With this new finding, we can effectively enhance contrast and control rivalry in mono- and stereoscopic images, and in VR rendering, as confirmed in validation experiments.