One reason why pictures are such powerful forms of communication is that they allow viewers to perceive three-dimensional information on a two-dimensional surface. At one level, it may seem obvious how this feat of dimensional expansion is accomplished: a 2D picture generates an image on the retina that is similar to the image that would be generated by the full 3D scene. However, this is strictly true only when a picture is viewed from the geometrically correct position--the center of projection. When pictures are viewed from angles, the resulting retinal image is quite distorted relative to the center of projection, yet the viewer is still reconstruct the 3D scene. Photographers, painters, computer scientists, cinematographers, and vision scientists have all wondered how this works; that is, how are people able to perceive scenes in pictures correctly across a variety of viewing positions?
With support of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Banks will investigate the means by which viewers perceive scenes in pictures across various viewing positions. He and his research team will examine various viewing conditions including stereoscopic pictures and wide-angle pictures in order to determine those conditions in which people are most able to perceive picture content accurately. In addition to advancing our basic understanding of visual perception, this work may lead to the development of new techniques for presenting pictorial information.
