Item

Abstract

Whenever we look at an object, we effortlessly perceive a wide range of its physical properties. We don‘t just recognize objects, we also mentally "size them up", tacitly asking ourselves: what is it made of?, how can it be used?, where should I hold it if I want to pick it up?, how big is it?, how stable? and so on. In this talk, I will present research on the human visual estimation of the physical properties of objects. I‘ll talk about how we estimate surface properties such as glossiness and translucency, and outline some important future directions for research into the perception of material properties. I‘ll also talk about the perception of 3D curvatures and how estimates of shape might be put to good use in inferring other properties of objects.
Although the emphasis will be on the problems as they are usually posed by psychology and neuroscience, I will also try to make some connections to other disciplines for which perception is relevant, such as computer graphics and design.