Perceptual limits on 2D motion-field visualization
Michael Langer, Javeen Pereira, D. Rekhi · ACM Transactions on Applied Perception · 2006
This paper examines perceptual issues in 2D motion-field visualization. Several aspects of motion-field perception are considered, including sensitivity to spatial gradients, number of motion layers, and motion blur. Our analysis concentrates on a specific popular method for 2D flow visualization, namely, line integral convolution (LIC). Using 2D spectral analysis, we examine a tradeoff that arises in dynamic LIC between the static motion blur cue, which indicates motion direction and the dynamic cue which indicates image speed. We also present a 2D spectral synthesis method for motion-field visualization, along with several examples. The synthesis method is simple to implement and to analyze in the frequency domain, which makes it a convenient tool for studying the perception of complex motion fields.