What makes a feature for human vision?
” Perception 32 ECVP Abstract Supplement Bars and edges: What makes a feature for human vision? M A Georgeson, G S Barbieri-Hesse There have been two main approaches to feature detection in human and computer vision–luminance-based and energy-based. Bars and edges might arise from peaks of luminance and luminance gradient respectively, or bars and edges might be found at peaks of local energy, where local phases are aligned across spatial frequency. This basic issue of definition is important because it guides more detailed models and interpretations of early vision. Which approach better describes the perceived positions of elements in a 3-element contour-alignment task? We used the class of 1-D images defined by Morrone and Burr in which the amplitude spectrum is that of a (partially blurred) square wave and Fourier components in a given image have a common phase. Observers judged whether the centre element (eg ±45° phase) was to the left or right of the flanking pair (eg 0° phase).
