Depth Perception of Interfering Periodic Patterns: A Possible Contribution to Disorientation on Escalators

Incongruous and illusory depth cues, arising from ‘interference patterns’ produced by overlapping linear grids at the edges of escalator treads, may contribute to the disorientation experienced by some escalator users, which in turn may contribute to the causes of some of the many escalator accidents which occur. The apparent depth of the interference pattern from the viewer is analysed in terms of the cues deriving from size and viewer motion. Both of these cues support the depth of the target being infinite. Preliminary observations are reported which confirm this analysis. Remedies for the problem are suggested. The possible contribution of this illusion to disorientation on escalators, due to misjudgment of depth, is compared with another recently reported factor which is due to stereoscopic miscorrespondence of periodic targets.