A new approach to the problem of cue-integration for the perception of 3D shape

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

Long ago artists discovered how cues like linear perspective, shading, cast-shadows, and occlusions create the illusion of a three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional canvas. Likewise, vision scientists have long assumed human perception exploits similar depth-cues to construct a three-dimensional experience of visual objects. It has been postulated that depth perception is informed by separate and different depth-cues that may effectively add up to a unified percept. However, this conventional wisdom may fall short of the mark. With NSF support Dr. Fulvio Domini will test whether depth cues are intimately interrelated, whether perception is based on the relation among depth cues not cues considered separately. This bold hypothesis will be developed as a model and tested in experiments with human participants. Broader Impacts include implications of the basic research for studies of visual impairments in disease and aging, and for the development of robust computer vision algorithms.