Stereoscopic 3-Dimensional (S3D) technology has recently received growing attraction,potentially because it provides a more informative and more immersive visual experience.Indeed, the viewer may extract the binocular disparities displayed between the left and theright views, more efficiently retrieve the depth of the observed visual scene, and thus, givevisual content another dimension. However, while the additional value of depth is ratherappreciated, a number of problems have been raised that impact the Quality of Experience(QoE) in S3D representations. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the main factorsaffecting QoE in stereopsis in order to provide guidelines towards the improvement andfurther use of stereoscopic systems. Three main aspects of QoE in S3D are addressed: (1) thesources and causes of visual fatigue, (2) the perceptual distortions arising in S3D and, (3) theimprovement of S3D QoE through content adaptation. To study visual fatigue in S3D,vergence eye movements were measured both in S3D display and in dual-screen display thatenables the presentation of matched disparity and defocus stimuli. The effect of stereopsis onvergence movements was studied so as to test whether vergence tracking can be used asindicator of visual fatigue. The next topic investigated the consistency in stereoscopic 3Dshape perception as a function of vergence distance and accommodation distance. The role ofthe pupil size and the depth of focus in S3D were evaluated by manipulating the pupilaperture with two controlled lighting conditions. Finally, the improvement of 3D shapeperception is addressed through content adaptation according to individual perceptionthresholds measurement for motion-in-depth stimuli.
