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1 Resolving the Vergence-Accommodation Con?ict in Head Mounted Displays A review of problem assessments, potential solutions, and evaluation methods Gregory Kramida and Amitabh Varshney Abstract—The vergence-accommodation con?ict remains a major problem in head-mounted displays for virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR). In this review, we discuss why this problem is pivotal for nearby tasks in VR and AR, present a comprehensive classi?cation of potential solutions, along with advantages and shortfalls of each category, and brie?y describe various methods that can be used to better evaluate the solutions. Index Terms—Vergence-Accommodation Con?ict, Head-Mounted Displays ! 1 INTRODUCTION The vergence-accommodation con?ict (henceforth referred to as VAC), also known as accommodationconvergence mismatch, is a well-known problem in the realm of head(or helmet)-mounted displays (HMDs), also referred to as head-worn displays (HWDs) [1], and stereoscopic displays in general: it forces the viewer’s brain to unnaturally adapt to con?icting cues and increases fusion time of binocular imagery, while decreasing fusion accuracy [2]. This contributes to (sometimes severe) visual fatigue (asthenopia), especially during prolonged use [3], [4], [5], which, for some people, can even cause serious side-effects long after cessation of using the device [6]. The current work is a checkpoint of the current state of the VAC problem as it relates to HMDs for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), and a comprehensive listing and discussion of potential solutions. With this review, we intend to provide solid informational foundations on how address VAC for any researcher working on or with HMD displays, whether they are working on new solutions to the problem speci?cally, or designing a prototype for a related application. In the remainder of this section we present a review of publications assessing the nature of the VAC problem and discussing its severity and importance within