Sharpening of drifting, blurred images

The perceived blur of moving images is less than expected given the sluggish temporal response of the visual system. This suggests that a motion deblurring mechanism may exist to preserve the positional acuity and sharpness of moving images. Furthermore, when sequences of blurred stills are presented, observers report that the moving image is in sharp focus raising the possibility that there is a mechanism which may sharpen the appearance of moving, blurred images. We have measured the effects of velocity and contrast on the perceived blur of drifting, blurred images (sine gratings and blurred edges). Subjects matched the perceived blur of drifting, blurred images to that of static, blurred images in a dimly lit room. It was found that perceived blur was inversely related to drift speed and contrast. The results confirm that moving, blurred images may appear sharper than when they are static. This finding is not consistent with some models of motion deblurring since these account only for the preservation of sharp contours that are present in the image and not for the sharp appearance of images that are in fact blurred.