6

Space Perception and

Binocular Vision
Chapter 6 Space Perception and Binocular Vision

Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional

Space
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis
Combining Depth Cues
Development of Binocular Vision and
Stereopsis
Introduction

Realism: The external world exists.

Positivists: The world depends on the
evidence of the senses; it could be a
hallucination!
• This is an interesting philosophical
position, but for the purposes of this
course, let’s just assume the world
exists.
Introduction

Euclidian geometry: Parallel lines remain

parallel as they are extended in space.
• Objects maintain the same size and
shape as they move around in space.
• Internal angles of a triangle always add
up to 180 degrees, etc.
Introduction

Notice that images projected onto the

retina are non-Euclidean!
• Therefore, our brains work with non-
Euclidean geometry all the time,
even though we are not aware of it.
Figure 6.1 The Euclidean geometry of the three-dimensional world turns into something quite
different on the curved, two-dimensional retina
Introduction

Probability summation: The increased

probability of detecting a stimulus from
having two or more samples.
• One of the advantages of having two
eyes that face forward.
Introduction

Binocular summation: The combination (or

“summation”) of signals from each eye in
ways that make performance on many
tasks better with both eyes than with
either eye alone.
The two retinal images of a three-
dimensional world are not the same!
Figure 6.2 The two retinal images of a three-dimensional world are not the same
Introduction

Binocular disparity: The differences

between the two retinal images of the
same scene.
• Disparity is the basis for stereopsis, a
vivid perception of the three-
dimensionality of the world that is not
available with monocular vision.
Introduction

Depth cue: Information about the third

dimension (depth) of visual space.
Monocular depth cue: A depth cue that is
available even when the world is viewed
with one eye alone.
Binocular depth cue: A depth cue that
relies on information from both eyes.
Figure 6.3 Comparing rabbit and human visual fields (Part 1)
Figure 6.3 Comparing rabbit and human visual fields (Part 2)
Figure 6.4 M. C. Escher, Relativity, 1953
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Occlusion: A cue to relative depth order in

which, for example, one object partially
obstructs the view of another object.
Figure 6.5 Occlusion makes it easy to infer relative position in depth
Figure 6.6 Figure 6.5 could be an “accidental” view of the pieces shown here in (a). It is much
more likely, however, that it is a generic view of circle, square, and triangle, as shown in (b)
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Metrical depth cue: A depth cue that

provides quantitative information about
distance in the third dimension.
Nonmetrical depth cue: A depth cue that
provides information about the depth order
(relative depth) but not depth magnitude.
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Relative size: A comparison of size

between items without knowing the
absolute size of either one.
• All things being equal, we assume that
smaller objects are farther away from
us than larger objects.
Figure 6.7 This is a photograph of a collection of Plasticine balls that are resting on the same
surface at the same distance from the camera
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Relative height: For objects touching the

ground, those higher in the visual field
appear to be farther away. In the sky above
the horizon, objects lower in the visual field
appear to be farther away.
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Texture gradient: A depth cue based on the

geometric fact that items of the same size
form smaller, closer spaced images the
farther away they get.
• Texture gradients result from a
combination of the cues of relative size
and relative height.
Figure 6.8 This rabbit texture gradient shows that the size cue is more effective when size changes
systematically
Figure 6.9 Organized differently, this illustration of the same rabbits as those shown in Figure 6.8
does not produce the same sense of depth
Figure 6.11 The rabbit image at the top far left is the same size as the one at the bottom far right
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Familiar size: A cue based on knowledge

of the typical size of objects.
• When you know the typical size of an
object, you can guess how far away it is
based on how small or large it appears.
• The cue of familiar size often works in
conjunction with the cue of relative size.
Figure 6.12 The cue of familiar size
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Relative size and relative height both

provide some metrical information.
• Relative metrical depth cue: A depth
cue that could specify, for example, that
object A is twice as far away as object
B without providing information about
the absolute distance to either A or B.
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Familiar size can provide precise metrical

information if your visual system knows
the actual size of the object and the visual
angle it takes up on the retina.
• Absolute metrical depth cue: A depth
cue that provides quantifiable
information about distance in the third
dimension.
Figure 6.13 The metrical cues of relative size and height can give the visual system more
information than a nonmetrical cue like occlusion can
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Aerial perspective: A depth cue based on

the implicit understanding that light is
scattered by the atmosphere.
• More light is scattered when we look
through more atmosphere.
• Thus, more distant objects appear
fainter, bluer, and less distinct.
Figure 6.14 The triangles seem to recede into depth more in (b) than in (a)
Figure 6.15 A real-world example of aerial perspective
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Linear perspective: Lines that are parallel

in the three-dimensional world will appear
to converge in a two-dimensional image
as they extend into the distance.
Vanishing point: The apparent point at
which parallel lines receding in depth
converge.
Figure 6.16 Linear perspective
Figure 6.17 Architectural View by Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1477), a very clear example of
linear perspective
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Pictorial depth cue: A cue to distance or

depth used by artists to depict three-
dimensional depth in two-dimensional
pictures.
Anamorphosis (or anamorphic projection):
Use of the rules of linear perspective to
create a two-dimensional image so
distorted that it looks correct only when
viewed from a special angle or with a
mirror that counters the distortion.
Figure 6.19 In 1533, Hans Holbein painted the double portrait in (a) with an odd object (b) at the
feet of the two men
Figure 6.20 Modern-day anamorphic art
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Motion parallax: Images closer to the

observer move faster across the visual
field than images farther away.
• The brain uses this information to
calculate the distances of objects in the
environment.
• Head movements and any other relative
movements between observers and
objects reveal motion parallax cues.
Figure 6.21 Motion parallax
Monocular Cues to Three-Dimensional Space

Accommodation: The process by which

the eye changes its focus (in which the
lens gets fatter as gaze is directed toward
nearer objects).
Convergence: The ability of the two eyes
to turn inward, often used to focus on
nearer objects.
Divergence: The ability of the two eyes to
turn outward, often used to focus on
farther objects.
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Corresponding retinal points: A geometric

concept stating that points on the retina of
each eye where the monocular retinal
images of a single object are formed are
at the same distance from the fovea in
each eye.
Figure 6.23 This simple visual scene illustrates how geometric regularities are exploited by the
visual system to achieve stereopsis from binocular disparity
Figure 6.24 The overlapping portions of the images falling on Bob’s left and right retinas
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Horopter: The location of objects whose

images lie on the corresponding points.
The surface of zero disparity.
Vieth–Müller circle: The location of objects
whose images fall on geometrically
corresponding points in the two retinas.
• The Vieth–Müller circle and the
horopter are technically different, but for
our purposes you may consider them
the same.
Figure 6.25 Bob is still gazing at the red crayon
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Objects on the horopter are seen as single

images when viewed with both eyes.
• Panum’s fusional area: The region of
space, in front of and behind the
horopter, within which binocular single
vision is possible.
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Objects significantly closer to or farther

away from the horopter fall on
noncorresponding points in the two eyes
and are seen as two images.
• Diplopia: Double vision. If visible in both
eyes, stimuli falling outside of Panum’s
fusional area will appear diplopic.
Figure 6.27 Superposition of Bob’s left (L) and right (R) retinal images of the crayons in Figure
6.24, showing the relative disparity for each crayon
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Crossed disparity: The sign of disparity

created by objects in front of the plane of
the horopter.
• Images in front of the horopter are
displaced to the left in the right eye and
to the right in the left eye.
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Uncrossed disparity: The sign of disparity

created by objects behind the plane of the
horopter.
• Images behind the horopter are
displaced to the right in the right eye
and to the left in the left eye.
Figure 6.28 Crossed and uncrossed disparity
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Stereoscope: A device for presenting one

image to one eye and another image to the
other eye.
• Stereoscopes were a popular item in the
1900s.
• Many children in modern days had a
ViewMaster, which is also a stereoscope.
• The Oculus Rift headset is a more
modern example of a stereoscope.
Figure 6.29 Wheatstone’s stereoscope
Figure 6.30 Stereopsis for the masses
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Free fusion: The technique of converging

(crossing) or diverging (uncrossing) the
eyes in order to view a stereogram without
a stereoscope.
• “Magic Eye” pictures rely on free fusion.
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Stereoblindness: An inability to make use

of binocular disparity as a depth cue.
• Can result from a childhood visual
disorder, such as strabismus, in which
the two eyes are misaligned.
• Most people who are stereoblind do not
even realize it.
Figure 6.31 Try to converge (cross) or diverge (uncross) your eyes so that you see exactly three
big blue squares here, rather than the two on the page
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Recovering Stereo Vision

• Susan Berry had strabismus as an infant and
never developed stereo vision.
• At age 48, began visual therapy to improve
coordination between her two eyes.
• One day she suddenly developed stereo
vision!
• Suggests that binocular vision might possibly
be developed outside of the normally
accepted “critical period.”
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Random dot stereogram (RDS): A

stereogram made of a large number of
randomly placed dots.
• RDSs contain no monocular cues to
depth.
• Stimuli visible stereoscopically in RDSs
are cyclopean stimuli.
• Cyclopean: Referring to stimuli that are
defined by binocular disparity alone.
Figure 6.33 If you can free-fuse this random dot stereogram you will see two rectangular regions:
one in front of the plane of the page, the other behind the page
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

3D movies were popular in the 1950s and

60s and have made a resurgence in
recent years.
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

For movies to appear 3D, each eye must

receive a slightly different view of the
scene (just like in real life).
• Early methods for seeing movies in 3D
involved “anaglyphic” glasses with a red
lens on one eye and a blue lens on the
other.
• Current methods use polarized light and
polarizing glasses to ensure that each
eye sees a slightly different image.
Figure 6.34 An audience watching a stereo movie in the 1950s
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Correspondence problem: In binocular

vision, the problem of figuring out which
bit of the image in the left eye should be
matched with which bit in the right eye.
• The problem is particularly vexing in
images like random dot stereograms.
Figure 6.37 Is this a simple picture or a complicated computational problem?
Figure 6.38 Interpreting the visual information from the three circles in Figure 6.37
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

There are several ways to solve the

correspondence problem:
• Blurring the image: Leaving only the
low-spatial frequency information helps.
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

• Uniqueness constraint: The observation

that a feature in the world is
represented exactly once in each retinal
image.
• Continuity constraint: The observation
that, except at the edges of objects,
neighboring points in the world lie at
similar distances from the viewer.
Figure 6.39 A low-spatial-frequency–filtered version of the stereogram in Figure 6.33
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

How is stereopsis implemented in the

human brain?
• Input from two eyes must converge
onto the same cell.
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

• Many binocular neurons respond best

when the retinal images are on
corresponding points in the two retinas:
Neural basis for the horopter.
• However, many other binocular neurons
respond best when similar images
occupy slightly different positions on the
retinas of the two eyes (tuned to
particular binocular disparity).
Figure 6.40 Receptive fields for two binocular-disparity–tuned neurons in primary visual cortex
Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Stereopsis can be used as both a metrical

and nonmetrical depth cue.
• Some cells just code whether a feature
lies in front of or behind the plane of
fixation (nonmetrical depth cue).
• Other cells code the precise distance of
a feature from the plane of fixation
(metrical depth cue).
Combining Depth Cues

The Bayesian Approach, Revisited (first

mentioned in Chapter 4).
Like object recognition, depth perception
results from the combination of many
different cues..
Combining Depth Cues

The Bayesian approach: A way of

formalizing the idea that our perception is
a combination of the current stimulus and
our knowledge about the conditions of the
world—what is and is not likely to occur.
• Thus, prior knowledge can influence our
estimates of the probability of an event.
Figure 6.41 Retinal image of a simple visual scene
Figure 6.42 Three of the infinite number of scenes that could generate the retinal image in Figure
6.41
Combining Depth Cues

Illusions and the construction of space

• Our visual systems take into account
depth cues when interpreting the size of
objects.
Figure 6.43 In which image are the two horizontal lines the same length?
Figure 6.44 The two people lying across these train tracks are the same size in the image
Figure 6.45 All of the red lines in this illustration (a) are the same length, as you can see in (b)
Figure 6.46 Despite their appearance, the vertical lines are parallel in (a), as are the horizontal
lines in (b)
Combining Depth Cues

Binocular rivalry: The competition between

the two eyes for control of visual
perception, which is evident when
completely different stimuli are presented
to the two eyes.
Figure 6.47 Binocular rivalry
Figure 6.48 If blue vertical bars are shown to one eye while orange horizontal bars are shown to
the other, the two stimuli will battle for dominance
Development of Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Stereoacuity: A measure of the smallest

binocular disparity that can generate a
sensation of depth.
Dichoptic: Referring to the presentation of
two stimuli, one to each eye. Different
from binocular presentation, which could
involve both eyes looking at a single
stimulus.
• Stereoacuity is often tested using
dichoptic stimuli.
Figure 6.50 The onset of stereopsis
Figure 6.51 The development of stereoacuity
Development of Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Abnormal visual experience can disrupt

binocular vision:
• Critical period: In the study of
development, a period of time when the
organism is particularly susceptible to
developmental change.
Development of Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Strabismus: A misalignment of the two

eyes such that a single object in space is
imaged on the fovea of one eye, and on
the nonfoveal area of the other (turned)
eye.
Suppression: In vision, the inhibition of an
unwanted image.
Figure 6.53 Left esotropia
Development of Binocular Vision and Stereopsis

Esotropia: Strabismus in which one eye

deviates inward.
Exotropia: Strabismus in which one eye
deviates outward.
Figure 6.54 Development of stereopsis in normal infants (red line) and in esotropes (blue)