Uncertainty principle in human visual perception

Mikhael I. Trifonov; Dmitry A. Ugolev

doi:10.1117/12.172698

1 May 1994 Uncertainty principle in human visual perception

Mikhael I. Trifonov, Dmitry A. Ugolev

Proceedings Volume 2179, Human Vision, Visual Processing, and Digital Display V; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.172698
Event: IS&T/SPIE 1994 International Symposium on Electronic Imaging: Science and Technology, 1994, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The orthodox data concerning the contrast sensitivity estimation for sine-wave gratings were formally analyzed. The result of our analysis made feasible a threshold energy value (Delta) E -- energetic equivalent to quantum of perception -- as (Delta) E equals (alpha) (Delta) L(Delta) X2, where (alpha) is a proportionality coefficient, (Delta) L is a threshold luminance, and (Delta) X is a half-period of grating. The value of (Delta) E is a constant for a given value of mean luminance L of the grating and for a middle spatial frequency region. So the `exchange' between luminance threshold (Delta) L and spatial resolution (Delta) X2 values takes place; the increasing of one is followed by the decreasing of the other. We treated this phenomenon as a principle of uncertainty in human visual perception and proved its correctness for other spatial frequencies. Taking into account threshold wavelength ((Delta) (lambda) ) and time ((Delta) t) the uncertainty principle may be extended to a wider class of visual perception problems, including color and flicker objects recognition. So, we suggest the uncertainty principle proposed above is to be one of the cornerstones of the evolution of cognitive systems.

Citation Download Citation

Mikhael I. Trifonov and Dmitry A. Ugolev "Uncertainty principle in human visual perception", Proc. SPIE 2179, Human Vision, Visual Processing, and Digital Display V, (1 May 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.172698

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