Generic and non-generic conditions for the perception of surface shape from texture.

Full Abstract

Li and Zaidi (Vision Research 40 (2000) 217; 41 (2001) 1519) have recently argued that there are two necessary conditions for the perception of 3D shape from texture:
(1) the texture pattern must have a disproportionate amount of energy along directions of principal curvature; and (2) the surface must be viewed with a noticeable amount of perspective. In the present article we present evidence that these conclusions are only valid under a limited set of non-generic viewing conditions. Other relevant factors that need to be considered in this context include the distribution of curvature on an object's surface and the set of possible viewing directions from which it can be observed. For generic viewing directions and patterns of curvature, the perception of surface curvature from texture is only minimally affected by the orientation spectrum of the texture pattern or the amount perspective in its optical projection. Li and Zaidi (Vision Research 41 (2001) 1519) have also identified two characteristic patterns of image contours, which they claim to be the only possible source of information within textured images for determining the direction of surface slant or the sign of surface curvature. In the present article we attempt to show that these characteristic patterns can only arise in natural vision for a limited set of non-generic viewing directions. We also review several other factors that can influence the perceived direction of slant or the perceived sign of curvature, which have been identified previously by other investigators.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Todd, James T (JT); Oomes, Augustinus H J (AH);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, 142 Townshend Hall, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA. todd.44@osu.edu

Grants: R01-EY12432 (Agency:United States NEI)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Vision research (Vision Res), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Mar; vol 42 (issue 7) : pp 837-50

Dates: Created 2002/04/02; Completed 2002/07/01; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 11927349, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.