Image curvature assessment in the presence of distractors

Subject of study. The mechanisms of visual perception of image curvature in the presence of additional images, referred to as distractors, were investigated. Aim of study. The aim was to describe and analyze the mechanisms of image curvature perception. Method. A series of psychophysical experiments were conducted, wherein images were analyzed, and the results were compared with those of prior studies on the perception of other visual stimuli. Main results. Curvatures for both real and interpolated images were estimated. Distortions (illusions) in the perception of image curvature in the presence of distractors were identified. Straight lines were perceived as curved, and the estimates for other stimuli were also erroneous. These illusions were more pronounced for interpolated images. The obtained data are consistent with the tilt illusion arising from the interaction between spatial-frequency channels. The observed illusions of image curvature may also be hypothetically explained by this interaction. However, a comparison with the perception of curvature of other images indicates ambiguity in the mechanisms for estimating curvature, as well as their dependence on the shape of the images and the surroundings. Practical significance. These findings can be applied in artificial neural networks for facial recognition and other images similar to those studied, as the initial processing of objects in such networks often involves filtering similar to that performed by the receptive fields of the visual cortex.