The perception of 3D shape from planar cut contours

Abstract

A new computational analysis is described for estimating 3D shapes from orthographic images of surfaces that are textured with planar cut contours. For any given contour pattern, this model provides a family of possible interpretations that are all related by affine scaling and shearing transformations in depth, depending on the specific values of its free parameters that are used to compute the shape estimate. Two psychophysical experiments were performed in an effort to compare the model predictions with observers' judgments of 3D shape for developable and non-developable surfaces. The results reveal that observers' perceptions can be systematically distorted by affine scaling and shearing transformations in depth and that the magnitude and direction of these distortions vary systematically with the 3D orientations of the contour planes.