Abstract

How does the visual system combine motion signals from disconnected locations? To address this question, we examined stimuli having individually ambiguous motion signals. We constructed demonstrations consisting of simple polygons moving behind a set of small windows. Motion measurements made through small windows, or apertures, are inherently ambiguous because the component of motion parallel to an edge’s orientation cannot be measured. Many researchers have proposed that observers reduce ambiguities by choosing image interpretations consistent with rigid objects. This hypothesis suggests that observers of our demonstrations will combine ambiguous motion signals across apertures so that their image interpretations are consistent with rigid polygons. Surprisingly, observers interpret our demonstrations nonrigidly.

© 1991 Optical Society of America