Transcript Lecture 3
SI23
Introduction to Computer
Graphics
Lecture 3 – Colour Vision
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3.1
Light and the Spectrum
10-6
Cosmic
rays
Light is the visible form of
electromagnetic energy
10-3
Gamma
rays
10-1
103
10
X-rays UV
760
Violet
1012 (nm)
Radio
nanometres
Red
Green
Blue
109
Infra-red Micro- Radar
wave
380
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106
Yellow
3.2
Human Visual System – The Eye
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3.3
Rods and Cones
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3.4
Human Eye
Light enters through
cornea, passes
through lens and
inverted image
formed on retina
Cornea is main
focus, lens provides
the fine tuning
Amount of light
entering eye
controlled by iris (28 mm)
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6 million rods, 100
million rods
Cones mainly in
fovea, central part
of retina, largely
absent elsewhere –
provide colour
perception
Rods in outer part of
retina – provide
non-colour
peripheral vision
160,000 cells per sq
mm
3.5
What do You See?
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3.6
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3.7
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3.8
Colour Depth Effects
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Light refracted as it
passes through the
cornea and lens
Normally eye focuses
on yellow-green
wavelength (560 nm)
Longer red
wavelengths converge
beyond, blue in front
of, retina
To focus on red, we
make lens more
convex as though
object nearer
Effect known as
chromostereopsis works differently for
different people (60%
see red nearer, no
effect for 10%)
Combination of effects
including displacement
of pupil wrt optical axis
of eye – which varies
among people
Also depends on
background, effect can
often reverse
3.9
Additive Mixing of Lights
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3.10
Colour Matching
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3.11
Additive Mixing of Lights and
Colour Matching Experiments
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When two light sources are combined, the result is
a simple addition of the sources
Thomas Young (1801) showed that overlapping
red, green, blue gave the secondary colours
yellow, cyan, magenta; and white where all three
overlap
By varying intensities, he was able to match most
of the spectral hues
Colour monitors use this principle:
– white produced as sum of red, green and blue
– both CRT and LCD
Colour matching experiments (CIE, 1931) have
given R,G,B values for single wavelength lights,
averaged over a number of observers
3.12
Sensitivity to Colour
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3.13
Sensitivity to Colour
Three types of cones: spectral absorbtioin
curves have peaks at 580, 540 and 440 nm
but there is considerable overlap
Each type produces response across range
of wavelengths – we determine colour by the
combination of the three responses
Relative numbers are:
– 40:20:1 in terms of R:G:B
– So our sensitivity to blue is much less
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3.14
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3.15
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3.16
Union Jack
Light sensitive elements in cones and
rods are proteins known as rhodopsin
By fixating on an image, response is
dulled
When replaced by white, we then see
the complementary colours only
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3.17
Signals from eye to brain
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3.18
From Eye to Brain
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3.19
From Eye to Brain
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3.20
From Eye to Brain
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Signals from retina
combine into a
luminance channel,
plus two opponent
channels (redgreen and yellowblue differences) [as
in colour TV
transmission]
Spatial sensitivity of
Y-B less than R-G
(because few B
cones) – so do not
show fine detail in
blue against black
Further processing
goes on as signals
leave retina by
optic channel to
visual cortex
Finally human visual
system transforms
the signals into a
perceptual
response – which
we are still trying to
understand
3.21
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3.22
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3.23
Simultaneous Contrast and
Coloured Surrounds
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Appearance of colour depends on lightness
and colour of surrounding region –
simultaneous contrast
Colours look smaller and darker against
white, lighter and larger against black
Retina takes signals from wider area and
does its own image processing
Coloured surrounds can cause a coloured
region to be tinged with complementary hue
of the surround
3.24
Acknowledgement
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The colour images used in this
presentation were prepared by Prof
Lindsey MacDonald for the UK
Advisory Group on Computer
Graphics
3.25