09/02/2019

1. Why do we have two eyes?

2. How does the brain combine information from the
two eyes to get a percept of depth?
3. How do we judge the distance of objects from us?

Lecture 10

Depth Perception
The ability to see 3-D image
It allows us to estimate an object’s distance from us
Binocular cues
• Some of the cues used to transform 2-D retinal images into 3-D perceptions involve
both eyes and rely on their working together
Monocular cues are available to each eye separately
Physiology of Depth Perception
Neurons have been found that respond best to
binocular disparity called BINOCULAR DEPTH CELLS
or DISPARITY SELECTIVE CELLS
These cells respond best to a specific degree of
disparity between images on the right and left retinas

1
 09/02/2019

Non-pictorial (Primary) Cues Non-pictorial (Primary) Cues

Stereopsis Convergence (Muscular Cue)

Retinal disparity
• Process of combining 2
• The difference between the different images by left-right
two images detected by the
eyes
brain provides an important
• 3-D movies use the same
cue to distance principle and viewers wear
glasses to see the effect
Accommodation (Muscular Cue )
• The lens of the eye changes shape
when we focus on an object,
thickening for nearby objects and
flattening for distant objects
• The process by which the eyes
point more and more inward as
an object gets closer
• By noting the angle of
convergence, the brain provides
us with depth information over
distances from about 6 to 20 feet

1. Relative Size
Activity Pictorial (secondary) cues 2. Relative Brightness
3. Superimposition
1. Hold your finger directly in front of your nose • At greater distances, we 4. Linear Perspective
2. The difference between the two retinal images is depend on pictorial cues 5. Aerial Perspective
large (and this can be shown by looking at your • These refer to features of
finger first with the left eye closed and then with 6. Height in the Horizontal
the visual field itself (rather Plane
the right eye closed) than to the eyes), and they 7. Light and Shadow
3. When the finger’s held at arm’s length, retinal are all monocular cues
disparity is much smaller 8. Texture Gradient
9. Motion Parallax

Relative Size
Relative Brightness
• Brighter
When objects are objects
equal size, the normally
closer one will appear to
take up more of be nearer
your visual field

2
 09/02/2019

Superimposition/ Overlap

• An object which blocks

the view of another is
seen as being nearer

Linear Perspective Aerial Perspective

• Objects at a great
• Parallel lines
distance appear to
appear to have a different colour
converge as
they recede
into the
distance

Height in the Horizontal Plane Light and Shadow

• 3-D objects produce
• When looking variations in light and
across a flat shade (for example, we
expanse (e.g. the normally assume that
sea), objects that light comes from above)
are more distant
seem higher (closer
to the horizon) than
nearer objects,
which seem lower
(closer to the
ground)

3
 09/02/2019

Texture Gradient

• Textured surfaces
(e.g. sand, land )
look rougher close
up than from a
distance
• A stretch of beach
looks more smooth
and uniform

Motion Parallax Motion Parallax

• This is the major
dynamic depth cue
(pictorial/non-
pictorial)
• Objects nearer to us
seem to move faster
than more distant
objects (e.g. telegraph
poles seen from a
(moving) train window
flash by when close to
the track)

Perceptual Constancy Size Constancy

• Perceptual system takes
The ability to perceive an object as Size into account an object’s
unchanging, despite changes in the distance from the
sensory information that reaches perceiver
our eyes Shape • Perceived size is equal to
retinal image size, taking
distance into account
Brightness
Colour

4
 09/02/2019

Shape Constancy
DIY

• Stare at a bright light for a few seconds, and then look

away
• You’ll experience an after-image. This has a fixed size,
shape and position on the retina
• Now quickly look at a nearby object, and then an object
further away
• The after-image seems to shrink and swell, appearing to
be largest when you look at a more distant object

Brightness Constancy
• We see objects as having a
more-or-less constant
brightness, even though the
amount of light they reflect
changes according to the level of
illumination
• Perceived brightness depends
on how much light an object
reflects relative to its
surroundings (relative
luminance)

Colour Constancy
• Familiar objects retain their
colour (more correctly, their
hue) under a variety of
lighting conditions (including
night light), provided there’s
sufficient contrast and
shadow
• When we don’t already know
an object’s colour, colour
constancy is less effective.