Adaptive luminance contrast for enhancing reading performance and visual comfort on smartphone displays

Abstract

This study developed a model for setting the adaptive luminance contrast between text and background for enhancing reading performance and visual comfort on smartphone displays. The study was carried out in two experiments. In Experiment I, a user test was conducted to identify the optimal luminance contrast with regard to subjects' reading performance, measured by lines of text reading and visual comfort, assessed by self-report after the reading. Based on the empirical results of the test, an ideal adaptive model which decreases the luminance contrast gradually with passage of time was developed. In Experiment II, a validation test involving reading performance, visual comfort, and physiological stress measured by a brainwave analysis using an electroencephalogram confirmed that the proposed adaptive luminance contrast is adequate for prolonged text reading on smartphone displays. The developed model enhances both reading performance and visual comfort as well as reduces the energy consumption of a smartphone; hence, it is expected that this study will be applied to diverse kinds of visual display terminals. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.