Erco Whitepaper Visual Perception 07 2022 en
Erco Whitepaper Visual Perception 07 2022 en
Erco Whitepaper Visual Perception 07 2022 en
How we see 3
Visual performance 5
Angle of vision 6
Contrast vision 7
Glare 10
Shape perception 12
Constancy phenomena 16
Perceptual psychology 19
How does visual perception In the eye, an inverted image is projected onto In the human eye, there are differences be-
work? the retina via a deformable lens. From the ret- tween the perceived object and the image on
ina the image is then transported through the the retina: the image is spatially distorted by
optic nerve to the brain. The brain turns the projection onto the curved surface of the ret-
recorded image around again and processes ina (spherical aberration). Also, the spectral
the information. This principle is also imitated colours are reproduced incorrectly (chromatic
by a camera – the aperture assumes the func- aberration). This occurs because light of differ-
tion of the deformable iris. Image sensors are ent wavelengths is unequally refracted, caus-
modelled on the light-sensitive retina. Here as ing rings of colour around the objects. The
well, the image is upside down and is shown brain removes these aberrations during the
on the display the correct way up again due to further processing of the image.
computing.
Spherical aberration: depicted objects are distorted by Chromatic aberration: blurred image due to different
the curvature of the retina. refraction of the spectral colours.
What is visual perceptual Perceptual psychology is a branch of science Before objects are assigned properties, they
psychology? concerned with the various aspects of visual must first be recognised, i.e. distinguished
perception, especially neural reception and the from their surroundings. From the process of
processing of sensory stimuli. To comprehend interpretation, laws of shape perception can
optical perception, the process of building up be formulated, according to which particular
visual impressions is of particular importance. arrangements are grouped into figures or
Apparent 'mistakes' enable an analysis of the objects. The laws of shape are also of practical
modes of action and objectives of perception. interest to lighting designers: each lighting
installation consists of an arrangement of lu-
On the one hand we have constancy phenom- minaires, be these on the ceiling, on the walls
ena. Constant objects generate images of dif- or within the space. However, such arrange-
ferent shape, size and brightness distribution ments are not perceived directly but organised
on the retina due to changes in e.g. lighting, into figures according to the rules of shape
distance or perspective. The mechanisms of perception. The surrounding architecture and
constancy perception compensate for these lighting effects of the luminaires create fur-
deviating retinal images. ther patterns integrated into the perception.
What does visual performance Visual performance is the term used to An example:
mean? describe the perceptual performance accom- the lower the colour- or brightness contrast bet-
plished by the eye. The difficulty of a visual ween printed text and a sheet of paper, the more
task increases upon reduction in colour- or difficult it is to read the text. The same applies to
small font sizes.
luminance contrast and size of the detail.
What influences visual perfor- The brighter it is, the higher our visual perfor- The guideline values for illuminances at work-
mance? mance. At an illuminance (measured in lux, lx) places, as specified primarily in EN 12464,
of 20lx, we can only just distinguish people's range from 20 to 2,000lx within the frame-
facial features. Simple work, such as a meeting work outlined above. Recommended illumi-
in a conference room, already needs at least nances in individual cases depend primarily on
200lx, whilst complicated visual tasks, such as the size of the visual task and its contrast with
control tasks or precision assembly, require up the immediate surroundings, whereby very
to 2,000lx. Illuminances of even up to 10,000lx small, low-contrast visual tasks require the
are required in special cases such as opera- highest level of illuminance.
tions in hospitals.
Good to know:
Fundamentally, visual performance increases
abruptly with increasing illuminance. However,
above 1,000lx it increases only slowly to then
finally decrease at very high illuminances due to
the occurrence of glare.
Influence of illuminance E on relative Influence of illuminance E on visual Visual acuity S according to age (nomi-
visual performance P for simple (upper acuity S of normal-sighted observers nal values)
curve) and difficult visual tasks (lower
curve)
How can the angle of vision be In order to measure visual acuity, a test per-
Good to know:
calculated? son must determine the orientation of the The unit of the angle of vision å is specified in
gap in a so-called Landolt ring (a circular ring angular minutes. An angle of one degree can be
with a gap or opening as a standard optotype divided into 60 angular minutes (1' = 1/60°).
or vision mark for vision tests). The angle of
vision can be calculated from the size of the
gap in the ring and the viewing distance. The
observation distance results in an angle of
vision (å), the reciprocal of which is the meas-
ure for visual acuity (S = 1: å). A visual acuity
(Visus) of 1 equates to recognition of the gap
under an angle of vision å = 1'.
No hierarchy can be recognised anymore with The differentiation can no longer be clearly Significant differentiation can be recognised
a 1:2 difference in brightness between the recognised if the brightness contrast between with a brightness contrast of 1:10 between
surroundings and the object. The room thus the surroundings and accenting is approxi- the surroundings and the accenting. A very
looks monotonous. mately 1:5. The attention of the observer is no dramatic atmosphere is thus created. Light
longer so distinctly guided. and shadow characterise this intense accent
lighting.
Type of visual task Contrast rendering CRF level CRF mean value CRF minimum
Is it possible to have no contrast? We talk about loss of contrast when differences Winter sports people, especially skiers, are familiar
in luminance no longer exist. A distinction is with whiteout and they colloquially call it 'snow
made between two types of contrast loss: blindness'. Ground covered in snow, a bright hori-
zon or snowfall can make it difficult or impossible
to see your own surroundings. This is where cont-
- Blackout: black objects in very dark to black rast vision no longer functions.
surroundings can no longer be recognised.
Good to know:
Experts speak of photopic vision when the eye
adapts to luminances exceeding 3cd/m2.
Good to know:
Experts speak of mesopic vision between lumi
nances of 3cd/m2 and 0.01cd/m2.
What is glare? Glare is a general term for the reduction of Glare can be caused by the light source itself
visual performance or the disturbance of per- (direct glare) or by reflection of the light source
ception, as caused by high luminances or (reflected glare).
contrasts in luminance within a visual envi-
ronment. A distinction is made between phys-
iological glare, in which there is an objective
reduction of visual performance, and psycho-
logical glare, where perception is subjectively
disturbed due to a disparity between the lumi-
nance and the information content of the
area viewed.
What types of glare can occur? Both physiological and psychological glare
occur in the two forms of direct glare and
reflected glare. With lighting design, this is
relevant for e.g. the illumination of workplaces
or for street lighting.
What are the possible conse- In the case of objective reduction in visual
quences of glare? performance, the term physiological glare is
used. Here, in the eye the light from a glare
light source is superimposed on the lumi-
nance pattern of the actual visual task, thus
impairing that eye's ability to perceive. How-
ever, the superimposition of spill light, which
is caused by the scattering of glare light in the
eye, is sufficient to reduce visual performance.
Increasing clouding of the eyes with age is
responsible for the higher glare sensitivity of
older people.
What are laws of shape? To assign a property to a visually perceived arrangements are not perceived directly but
object, it must first be recognised, i.e. distin organised into figures according to the rules
guished from its surroundings. Laws are of shape perception. The surrounding archi-
derived from the process of interpretation or tecture and lighting effects of the luminaires
analysis, according to which specific arrange- create further patterns integrated into the
ments can be grouped into visually perceived perception.
figures or objects. The laws of shape are also
of practical use to the lighting designer: each
lighting installation consists of an arrange-
ment of luminaires, be these on the ceiling, on
the walls or within the space. However, such
What is the law of proximity? Shapes perceived as closed must not manda-
torily have a continuous contour. Elements
arranged near to each other can be grouped
together via shape perception according to
the 'law of proximity' to form a single figure.
Luminaires are joined together to become pairs. Four points become a square.
What is the law of symmetry? In shape perception, one criterion for group
formation is symmetry. Particularly with
mirror-symmetrical arrangements around a
vertical axis, the mirrored shapes can each
be combined into pairs. This effect is some-
times so strong that the grouping of adjacent
shapes according to the law of proximity does
not take place.
Interesting!
This principle of sameness also applies when
the shapes of a group are not identical but only
similar. For example, circles of different sizes are
perceived together. Rectangles and squares also
sometimes belong to a group due to their similar
shapes.
What is the law of good shape? In the area of planar shapes, the law of the
continuous line corresponds to the law of
good shape or law of good continuation. Here,
shapes are organised to result in the simplest,
most orderly figures possible.
What is the law of equally wide In the case of parallel, equally wide shapes
shapes? there is no strict symmetry, but a clear organ-
isational principle can be still recognised. This
leads to preferential perception as a figure. In
the example, the circles are interpreted as two
parallel lines because of their identical behav-
iour.
- Size constancy
- Brightness constancy
- Colour constancy
- Shape constancy
- Constancy of perspective
Learn
- the importance of perceptual psychology in
vision,
- how people perceive their surroundings, Interesting to know:
- whether visual perception is innate, With vision, perceptual psychology together with
- the importance of experience in perceptual the physiology of the eye takes into account all
psychology, and factors in the interplay between
- the perceiving person,
- what is meant by subjective perception. - the objects seen, and
- light as the connecting medium.
What is the significance of per- The often applied model of the eye function
ceptual psychology to seeing? ing as a camera cannot fully explain the
creation of the image perceived. It merely
transports the object to be perceived from the
outer world to the cortex, which is the part of
the cerebral cortex enabling vision.
For a real understanding of visual perception,
it is not so much the transport of image infor-
mation that is important but the conversion
or 'translation' of this information. This is
where perceptual psychology comes into play.
It supplements the physically recorded sensory
stimuli with individual components to thus
enable extensive perception.
How do people visually perceive The process of visual perception is split into
their surroundings? three steps:
1. Sensation and reception of stimuli: an
image of an object or the environment is
created on the retina of the eye.
2. Organising and evaluation of stimuli: In line
with shape perception, what is seen is com-
bined to create a coherent shape.
3. Ordering and interpretation of stimuli: a
meaning is assigned to the sensory impres-
sions.
Is human visual perception The question of whether people's ability to There are indications for example that the
innate? perceive their environment in a contextual- spatial organisation of perception is innate:
ised or ordered way is innate (from birth) or if babies or newborn animals are placed on a
learned from experience cannot be answered glass plate that is above a step, they clearly
with complete clarity. Perceptual psychology avoid the area above the lower step. In this
splits here into several contradictory direc- situation, an innate visual recognition of
tions. Each of these directions can reference a depth and its associated danger takes prec-
range of evidence for its model, but none of edence over information from the sense of
these is able to plausibly explain all occurring touch which communicates a safe and flat
visual phenomena. surface.
What is subjective perception? When people see, a form of selection or filter Conclusion:
ing occurs: the aim is to gain information In perceptual psychology, innate mechanisms and
about the surroundings but not to be over- one's own experience play a role. Presumably, the
whelmed by the abundance of sensory impres- innate component fundamentally organises the
perception. At a higher level of processing, the
sions. The perception is open to subjective experience helps to interpret complex shapes.
interpretation. The human brain converts
stimuli into perceptible images by applying its
own principles of order. Individual responses
to what is seen then follow.
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