A perceptual model for eccentricity-dependent spatio-temporal flicker fusion and its applications to foveated graphics

Abstract

Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) displays strive to provide a resolution, framerate and field of view that matches the perceptual capabilities of the human visual system, all while constrained by limited compute budgets and transmission bandwidths of wearable computing systems. Foveated graphics techniques have emerged that could achieve these goals by exploiting the falloff of spatial acuity in the periphery of the visual field. However, considerably less attention has been given to temporal aspects of human vision, which also vary across the retina. This is in part due to limitations of current eccentricity-dependent models of the visual system. We introduce a new model, experimentally measuring and computationally fitting eccentricity-dependent critical flicker fusion thresholds jointly for both space and time. In this way, our model is unique in enabling the prediction of temporal information that is imperceptible for a certain spatial frequency, eccentricity, and range of luminance levels. We validate our model with an image quality user study, and use it to predict potential bandwidth savings 7X higher than those afforded by current spatial-only foveated models. As such, this work forms the enabling foundation for new temporally foveated graphics techniques.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jul 19, 2021
Source ID
10.1145/3450626.3459784

Entities

People

  • Brooke Krajancich
  • Gordon Wetzstein
  • Petr Kellnhofer

Organizations

  • Army Research Office
  • National Science Foundation
  • Stanford University

Tags

Readers

  • Agent-Based Social Robotics and Mobile-Assisted Learning in Virtual Environments.
  • Computer Vision.
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.

Technology Areas

  • Space