A horopter for two-point perspective

Christopher W. Tyler

doi:10.1117/12.602237

18 March 2005 A horopter for two-point perspective

Christopher W. Tyler

Proceedings Volume 5666, Human Vision and Electronic Imaging X; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.602237
Event: Electronic Imaging 2005, 2005, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

Linear perspective is constructed for a particular viewing location with respect to the scene being viewed and, importantly, the location of the canvas between the viewer and the scene. Conversely, both the scene and the center of projection may be reconstructed with some knowledge of the structure of the scene. For example, if it is known that the objects depicted have symmetrical features, such as equiangular corners, the center of projection is constrained to a single line (or point) in space. For one-point perspective (with a single vanishing point for all lines that are not parallel to the canvas plane), the constraint line runs from the vanishing point perpendicular to the canvas. For two-point perspective, in which the objects depicted are oblique to the canvas, the constraint line is a semicircle joining the two vanishing points. A viewer located at any point on the circle will see the depicted objects as rectangular and symmetric, and will have no grounds for knowing that the perspective was not constructed for this viewing location (unless there are objects that are known to be square, i.e., a further symmetry constraint on the object structures). This semi-circular line of rectangular validity forms a kind of horopter for two-point perspective. Moving around this semi-circular line for an architectural scene gives the viewer the odd impression of the architecture reforming itself in credible fashion to form an array of equally plausible structures.

Citation Download Citation

Christopher W. Tyler "A horopter for two-point perspective", Proc. SPIE 5666, Human Vision and Electronic Imaging X, (18 March 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.602237

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available