Computational Investigation of the Effect of Luminance Contrast on Depth Perception in Physical and Simulated Scenes

ABSTRACT

Luminance distribution of a scene results from the complex interaction of physical construction, light, and visual perception from the point of observation. Perceptual studies using computer-generated environments for accurate variable control have been conducted to perform psychophysical experiments to investigate the cause-and-effect relationship between luminance contrast and its effect on depth perception. The effect of luminance contrast on the perceived distance of a visual target in an architectural scene has been identified through perceptual studies utilizing the pictorial environment generated using the related high dynamic range (HDR) imaging digital technologies. In this study, psychophysical experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of luminance contrast on depth perception in physical and computer-simulated scenes. Experimental scenes were generated using the HDR image of a physical model, and through computer simulations of the same physical model on which image-based lighting techniques were applied in the lighting simulation program RADIANCE. The objectives of this study are to compare the effect of luminance contrast in the physical scenes to that in the computer-simulated scenes; and to verify the reliability of applying luminance contrast in architectural designs through computer-aided design processes using HDR-related technologies.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• high dynamic range imaging
• luminance contrast
• image-based lighting
• depth perception
• computer-aided design

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to thank the National Science Council in Taiwan for funding this research (NSC 102-2221-E-027-086). The author would also like to thank the people who participated in the experiments.