Hue geometry and horizontal connections

Primate visual systems support an elaborate specialization for processing color information. Concentrating on the hue component, we observe that, contrary to Mondrian-like assumptions, hue varies in a smooth manner for ecologically important natural imagery. To represent these smooth variations, and to support those information processing tasks that utilize hue, a piecewise smooth hue field is postulated. The geometry of hue-patch interactions is developed analogously to orientation-patch interactions in texture. The result is a model for long-range (horizontal) interactions in the color domain, the power of which is demonstrated on a number of examples. Implications for computer image processing, computer vision, visual neurophysiology and psychophysics are discussed.