Science
The perception of materials, or stuff, relies not only on our understanding of the physics of the substance, but also on our judgment of material surface properties. Differences in material surface properties depend largely on their 3D texture. Unlike 2D textures produced by patterns "painted" onto a surface, 3D textures are characterized by physical changes in surface geometry. Microscale texture differences between materials like porcelain and rubber make one material appear shiny and the other matte. Mesoscale textures like stucco or other aggregates of small particles interact with light and viewing geometry thus produce features like occlusions, cast shadows, and interreflections within the texture that potentially yield highly variable 2D images. The goal of my research is to model the mechanisms that underlie visual judgments of 3D texture, i.e., how do we perceive materials?
Advisors
Laurence T. Maloney, Michael S. Landy
Selected Talks & Publications
- Ho, Y.-X. (2008). Visual cues and 'pseudocues' to 3D surface texture perception. Thesis Defense Talk presented on April 17, New York University, NY. [Download talk - medium (2mb), large (6.2mb)] [Get Quicktime to view talk]
- Ho, Y.-X., Landy, M. S., & Maloney, L. T. (2007). Conjoint measurement of gloss and surface texture. Psychological Science, 19, 196-204.
- Ho, Y.-X., Maloney, L. T., & Landy, M. S. (2007). The effect of viewpoint on perceived visual roughness. Journal of Vision, 7, 1-16, http://journalofvision.org/7/1/1/.
- Ho, Y.-X., Landy, M. S., & Maloney, L. T. (2006). How direction of illumination affects visually perceived surface roughness. Journal of Vision, 6, 634-648, http://journalofvision.org/6/5/8/.
yxh © 2008