Adaptation Luminance Research Articles

Influence of Screen Size and Field of View on Perceived Brightness

We present a study into the perception of display brightness as related to the physical size and distance of the screen from the observer. Brightness perception is a complex topic, which is influenced by a number of lower- and higher-order factors—with empirical evidence from the cinema industry suggesting that display size may play a significant role. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a series of user studies exploring brightness perception for a range of displays and distances from the observer that span representative use scenarios. Our results suggest that retinal size is not sufficient to explain the range of discovered brightness variations, but is sufficient in combination with physical distance from the observer. The resulting model can be used as a step toward perceptually correcting image brightness perception based on target display parameters. This can be leveraged for energy management and the preservation of artistic intent. A pilot study suggests that adaptation luminance is an additional factor for the magnitude of the effect.

65‐1: Maximum Comfortable Luminance of Head Mounted Display under Various Surround Illuminances

The comfortable luminance of Head Mounted Display (HMD) was investigated under four different surround illuminances. In the psychophysical experiment, participants adapted to the surround illuminance for five minutes and they were asked to answer whether HMD luminance is comfortable or not with the method of constant stimuli. The result demonstrates that the comfortable luminance is increased as the surround illuminance is increased, suggesting the needs of the adaptive luminance control of HMD.

The effect of assuming static or dynamic gaze behaviour on the estimated background luminance of drivers

Application of the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage system for mesopic photometry requires that an estimate is made of the observers’ state of luminance adaptation. This paper addresses an assumption made when estimating background luminance, a component of adaptation luminance. Specifically, using spatial sampling of the visual field we compare background luminances determined from assumptions of static or dynamic visual gaze, the former being a simplification, the latter being a better representation based on eye movements when driving. The comparison was undertaken with luminance images of urban scenes at night on three roads, two real and one simulated. It was found that background luminances were significantly higher when estimated using the dynamic assumption. It was also found that scene luminances at the point of foveal fixations tend to be higher than those luminances influencing peripheral regions of the retina. Compared with the background luminance estimated for a dynamic peripheral field, a horizon-centred 10° circle led to a slightly higher estimate and the road surface luminance to a slightly lower estimate of background luminance.

Driving at night with a cataract: Risk homeostasis?

Driving with a cataract can be dangerous, especially at night when road lighting and automotive lighting produce glare. Disability glare alters visual performance, while discomfort glare contributes to restricted mobility, with drivers avoiding driving at night. The present study was focused on the visual effects of an early cataract, and aimed at comparing three driving performance indexes at night, under glare conditions, with and without a simulated cataract. Two indexes directly referred to road safety, while a measure could be related to behavioral adaptation.Using a driving simulator, twenty-six participants were asked to drive in simulated night-time conditions, under controlled photometric conditions where the adaptation luminance and the glare level were consistent with a two-lane rural road at night with oncoming traffic. The visual effects of a bilateral cataract were simulated using goggles which were in the range of an early cataract in terms of light scattering, light transmission, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity loss. Participants were asked to avoid virtual pedestrians on the road, both with and without a simulated cataract. Three performance indexes were considered: the rate of pedestrian crashes, the distance to the pedestrian when the participant avoided the crash, and the mean speed, which allowed to control for a possible behavioral adaptation to the reduced visual performance. For a better understanding of the visual functions responsible for the degraded driving behavior, contrast sensitivity and time-to-collision performance were also measured in glare conditions.While simulated cataract resulted in slightly slower speeds, poorer driving performance was observed with the goggles than without, with more pedestrians being hit and shorter stopping distances. Time-to-collision estimates at 90 km/h were found to be predictive of stopping distances with a simulated cataract, while contrast sensitivity in glare conditions at 13 cycles per degree was found to be associated with the occurrence of a crash with cataract.The decrease in speed with a simulated cataract was real but ineffective in terms of driving safety, which suggests that the behavioral adaptation to the degraded visual performance was insufficient. The precise impact of a cataract on driving abilities remains to be further studied, to provide scientific knowledge to help practitioners determine the moment when the individuals should forego driving.

Visual-perception depth of field as a function of external conditions

Based on an analysis of Campbell’s fundamental data on how the depth of field depends on the diameter of an artificial pupil, it is determined how the depth of field for a natural pupil depends on the adaptation luminance and the contrast of a test object. The resulting model data are compared with the diameter of the diffraction–aberration circle of confusion and the visual acuity. The depth of field is regarded as the zone of indistinguishability, in which stimuli that are objectively distinguishable in their intensity are not distinguished by the observer. From the viewpoint of psychophysics of perception, the depth of field is the critical index that determines the dual perception of a luminance gradient. The proposed model makes it possible to synthesize the luminance distribution in the image of a test object with various defocusing values and thereby to simulate the depth of field for a given accommodation range. This makes it possible to investigate the formation of zones of excitation and signal summation in various sections of the visual system.

Image Backlight Compensation Using Recurrent Functional Neural Fuzzy Networks Based on Modified Differential Evolution

In this study, an image backlight compensation method using adaptive luminance modification is proposed for efficiently obtaining clear images.The proposed method combines the fuzzy C-means clustering method, a recurrent functional neural fuzzy network (RFNFN), and a modified differential evolution.The proposed RFNFN is based on the two backlight factors that can accurately detect the compensation degree. According to the backlight level, the compensation curve function of a backlight image can be adaptively adjusted. In our experiments, six backlight images are used to verify the performance of proposed method.Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method performs well in backlight problems.

Adaptive luminance adjustment and neighborhood spreading strength information based view synthesis

Adaptive luminance adjustment and neighborhood spreading strength information based view synthesis

The effect of spatial luminance distribution on dark adaptation.

Recent studies show that dark adaptation in the visual system depends on local luminance levels surrounding the viewing direction. These studies, however, do not explain to what extent veiling luminance is responsible for the outcome. To address the latter, in this study dark adaptation was measured for three different spatial luminance distributions surrounding a target to be detected, while keeping the veiling luminance at the location of the target equivalent. The results show that a background with bright areas close to the viewing direction yields longer adaptation times than a background with bright areas at a larger visual angle. Therefore, we conclude that dark adaptation is affected to a great extent by local luminance, even when controlling for veiling luminance. Based on our results, a simple but adequate model is proposed to predict the adaptation luminance threshold for backgrounds having a nonuniform luminance distribution.

Veiling luminance and visual adaptation field in mesopic photometry

In mesopic photometry, adaptation luminance is needed to derive the mesopic luminances for the measurement field. The average luminance of the visual adaptation field is considered as the adaptation luminance. The visual adaptation field has yet to be defined in terms of the size, shape, or location within the visual field. A study in three road lighting situations was conducted, in order to determine the feasibility of using the road surface as the adaptation field compared to circular or elliptical adaptation fields. Currently, the road surface is used as the measurement field for calculating road lighting. Using the road surface as the adaptation field resulted in 76–113%, higher average luminance than obtained using circular or elliptical adaptation fields when the road was bordered by a park. High-luminance sources outside of the visual adaptation field cause veiling luminance. Veiling luminance increases the adaptation state, but not the luminance within the measurement field. The bias veiling luminance can cause on mesopic luminance calculations was estimated to be less than 2%. The estimated bias can be considered trivial in practical road lighting measurements.

Adaptation luminance simulation for CIE mesopic photometry system implementation

A simulation method to determine adaptation luminance is proposed for implementation of the CIE mesopic photometry system. The simulation takes four factors into account: luminance distribution, eye movement of observers, surrounding luminance effect and area of measurement. Each factor is modelled as a two-dimensional geometrical function. The method determines an adaptation luminance for the area of measurement through four calculation steps. The simulation method was applied to examples of luminance distributions of outdoor lit scenes and the results were compared with possible simple predictors of adaptation luminance. The comparisons suggest that the average luminance of the area of measurement can be considered as a good approximation in most of the cases. Exceptions are scenes for pedestrians in which there are many bright sources surrounding the area of measurement.

Applicability of mesopic factors to the driving task

With the advent of light-emitting diode technology being applied to roadway lighting, the spectral power distribution of the light source is becoming much more important. In this experiment, the detection of pedestrians at five adaptation levels under three light sources, high pressure sodium and light emitting diodes of two colour temperatures was measured in realistic roadway scenarios. The results show that while the light source type was not significant, an increase in adaptation luminance increased the detection distance. As the offset of the object to the roadway increased, some spectral effects became more significant; however, this effect was not consistent across all angles of eccentricity. The conclusions from this work indicate that mesopic factors may not be applicable on high-speed roads.

Verification of the Appropriateness of the Standard for Tunnel Luminance in the Threshold Zone Through a Full-scale Tunnel Driving Test

PURPOSES : This study aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of safety with the standard for threshold zone luminance as specified in the Recommendation for Lighting of Traffic Tunnel, which has been widely adopted worldwide. METHODS : A driving test of the subject in a full-scale road tunnel was conducted. The adaptation luminance and threshold zone luminance, which should be known for the driver to perceive an object within stopping sight distance, were obtained. These values were compared with the adaptation luminance and threshold zone luminance obtained by the existing reduced model test and tunnel lighting standard that has served as a guideline for the current threshold zone luminance standard. RESULTS : According to this study, threshold zone luminance should be increased to at least 1.8 times the value proposed in the existing studies and to twice the domestic tunnel lighting standard (KS C 3703: 2014). CONCLUSIONS : The threshold zone luminance proposed in this study differs largely from that obtained from indoor tests and from the current tunnel lighting standard used worldwide; this difference may be attributed to the fact that the indoor tests did not incorporate driving workload, non-uniformity of luminance distribution in terms of sight, and factors that reduce the visibility of the driver, such as the light reflected into the driver's eyes. Hence, it is necessary to further review the factors that reduce the visibility of drivers approaching tunnels in order to determine the rational tunnel threshold zone luminance.

Adaptive luminance difference between text and background for comfortable reading on a smartphone

This study proposes a model of adaptive luminance difference between text and background for comfortable reading on a smartphone display. The study is composed of two experiments. In Experiment I, the optimal luminance difference is identified in accordance with reading speed and preference. On the basis of the experimental results, the gradual decrease of luminance difference between text and background is developed. The change occurs while reading the text, and the model is applied to various illuminance levels. In Experiment II, the effect of adaptive luminance difference is validated in terms of reading speed, preference, and brainwave analysis using an electroencephalogram. Empirical evidence confirms that the developed model improves physiological comfort and psychological satisfaction, thereby it has a potential to be applied to the visual display industry.

Depth-Based Texture Coding in AVC-Compatible 3D Video Coding

The target of 3D video coding is to compress Multiview Video plus Depth (MVD) format data, which consist of a texture image and its corresponding depth map. In the MVD format, the depth map plays an important role for successful services in 3D video applications, because it enables the user to experience 3D by generating arbitrary intermediate views. The depth map has a strong correlation with its associated texture data, so it can be utilized to improve texture coding efficiency. This paper introduces a novel and efficient depth-based texture coding scheme. It includes depth-based motion vector prediction, block-based view synthesis prediction, and adaptive luminance compensation, which were adopted in an AVC-compatible 3D video coding standard. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme reduces the total coding bitrates of texture and depth by 19.06% for the coded PSNR and 17.01% for the synthesized PSNR in a P-I-P view prediction structure, respectively.

Color Image Enhancement Based on Adaptive Nonlinear Curves of Luminance Features

This paper proposes an image-dependent color image enhancement method that uses adaptive luminance enhancement and color emphasis. It effectively enhances details of low-light regions while maintaining well-balanced luminance and color information. To compare the structure similarity and naturalness, we used the tone mapped image quality index (TMQI). The proposed method maintained better structure similarity in the enhanced image than did the space-variant luminance map (SVLM) method or the adaptive and integrated neighborhood dependent approach for nonlinear enhancement (AINDANE). The proposed method required the smallest computation time among the three algorithms. The proposed method can be easily implemented using the field-programmable gate array (FPGA), with low hardware resources and with better performance in terms of similarity.

터널 경계부 휘도수준에 따른 운전자 연령대별 안전수준 비교

PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to suggest a basis for setting appropriate safety goals specifically related to the threshold zone luminance in a vehicular traffic tunnel. METHODS : In the test, drivers were divided into two groups. One group consisted of all drivers (average drivers) group with an age ratio of drivers holding domestic driver`s license and driver group by age to produce threshold zone luminance in the tunnel. The threshold zone luminance produced as a result was used to analyze how it affects the safety level of each driver group and provide a basis for setting an appropriate safety criterion that can be used to determine threshold zone luminance. We used test equipment, test conditions, and ananalysis of threshold zone luminance identical to that reported by ChoandJung(2014) but the values of adaptation luminance in our analys is were expanded to range from100 to . RESULTS : Adaptation luminance and threshold zone luminance are found to be related by a quadratic function. The threshold zone luminance needed by older drivers to ensure a certain safety level is significantly higher than that for drivers of other age brackets when adaptation luminance increases. 56% of older drivers are at an increased risk of an accident at the same luminance for which the safety level of average drivers is 75%. The safety level that can be achieved for older drivers increases to above 60% when threshold zone luminance level is set with the goal of attaining a safety level of more than 85% for average drivers. The safety level that can be attained for average drivers is above 90% when the threshold zone luminance is high enough to ensure over 75% in the safety level of older drivers. Results of this study are applicable to highways and others whose designed speed is 100 km/h. CONCLUSIONS : Threshold zone luminance determined on the basis of drivers having average visual ability is of limited value as a performance standard for ensuring the safety of older drivers. Hence, safety level for older drivers should be considered separately from safety levels for drivers with an average ability to avoid risk. Upward adjustment of older drivers` safety level in the process of determining appropriate threshold zone luminance in a vehicular traffic tunnel may bring both tangible and intangible benefit as a result of reducing accidents. However, there is an associated dollar cost arising from installing and operating lights. As a result, the economic impact of these trade-offs should also be considered.

Defining the visual adaptation field for mesopic photometry: How does the high-luminance source affect peripheral adaptation?

CIE 191:2010 recommends the mesopic photometry system, in which the luminous efficiency function is determined from the adaptation luminance. However, it cannot be implemented because the adaptation field to determine the adaptation luminance is not defined. Surrounding luminance effect is a key factor to define the adaptation field. Vision experiments have been conducted to measure the surrounding luminance effect on peripheral adaptation state with a point source at varied intensities placed at different position. The results reveal that the effect can be described as veiling luminance and that the magnitude of the effect is larger than that of the foveal veiling luminance. A model for the peripheral veiling luminance proposed by Stiles and Crawford in 1937 shows the best prediction for the surrounding luminance effect.

Adaptive luminance contrast for enhancing reading performance and visual comfort on smartphone displays

This study developed a model for setting the adaptive luminance contrast between text and background for enhancing reading performance and visual comfort on smartphone displays. The study was carried out in two experiments. In Experiment I, a user test was conducted to identify the optimal luminance contrast with regard to subjects’ reading performance, measured by lines of text reading and visual comfort, assessed by self-report after the reading. Based on the empirical results of the test, an ideal adaptive model which decreases the luminance contrast gradually with passage of time was developed. In Experiment II, a validation test involving reading performance, visual comfort, and physiological stress measured by a brainwave analysis using an electroencephalogram confirmed that the proposed adaptive luminance contrast is adequate for prolonged text reading on smartphone displays. The developed model enhances both reading performance and visual comfort as well as reduces the energy consumption of a smartphone; hence, it is expected that this study will be applied to diverse kinds of visual display terminals.

Adaptive and Affective Luminance Contrast on Optimal Brightness of Displays

In this study was investigated the range of optimal luminance contrast needed to enhance user physiological comfort and psychological satisfaction while viewing displays. Diverse instances of luminance contrast were collected, of which both ambient luminance and object luminance were measured, and subjective judgment was notes for first-time viewing and after continuous viewing. The result revealed that the optimal luminance contrast is not static. The optimal ratio between ambient luminance and object luminance changes gradually as viewing time increases, and in particular, it converges into a smaller range. The optimal brightness of object luminance in a dark environment needs to be increased, whereas that in bright environments needs to be decreased. Therefore, the duration of viewing should be considered to define optimal luminance contrast, and hence a dynamically adaptive luminance contrast is proper to maintain affective viewing quality of internally lit objects such as smartphone displays and e-books.

Human contrast threshold and astronomical visibility

The standard visibility model in light pollution studies is the formula of Hecht (1947), as used e.g. by Schaefer (1990). However it is applicable only to point sources and is shown to be of limited accuracy. A new visibility model is presented for uniform achromatic targets of any size against background luminances ranging from zero to full daylight, produced by a systematic procedure applicable to any appropriate data set (e.g Blackwell (1946)), and based on a simple but previously unrecognized empirical relation between contrast threshold and adaptation luminance. The scotopic luminance correction for variable spectral radiance (colour index) is calculated. For point sources the model is more accurate than Hecht's formula and is verified using telescopic data collected at Mount Wilson by Bowen (1947), enabling the sky brightness at that time to be determined. The result is darker than the calculation by Garstang (2004), implying that light pollution grew more rapidly in subsequent decades than has been supposed. The model is applied to the nebular observations of William Herschel, enabling his visual performance to be quantified. Proposals are made regarding sky quality indicators for public use.