A fundamental organizing principle of the brain seems to be that anatomically discrete regions perform separate tasks. The extent of this specialization is clearest in the visual system, where the cerebral cortex is subdivided into distinct areas, each of which makes a different contribution to the processing of visual images [1]. These areas were originally identified on anatomical grounds (an...

The provision of stereo images to facilitate depth perception by stereopsis is one key aspect of many Virtual Reality installations and there are many technical approaches to do so. However, differences in visual capabilities of the user and technical limitations of a specific set-up might restrict the spatial range in which stereopsis can be facilitated. In this paper, we transfer an existent ...

Stereopsis relies principally on the extraction of horizontal retinal disparities. As such, we assume that the vertical contours (i.e., horizontal contrast energy) are of principle import for stereopsis. Yet there are theoretical reasons for believing that horizontal contours should be involved in binocular matching (if not stereopsis proper) as well. First, they would facilitate the computatio...

Comparisons of 1st- and 2nd-order stereopsis have typically employed isolated, or local, narrow-band targets. While these experiments have revealed a great deal about the distinction between these two types of processing, such stimuli are rare in the natural environment. Instead, local disparity signals are more likely to be part of extended surfaces that very smoothly in depth. The aim of the ...

Binocularity was assessed in children who developed large, constant esotropia following bilateral lateral rectus recessions for intermittent exotropia. Nine such patients were identified who warranted medical rectus recession. Seven were finally aligned within 6 prism dioptres after secondary surgery. Stereopsis measured 50 seconds or better in six of these patients and 200 seconds of arc in th...

Although horses have laterally-placed eyes, there is substantial binocular overlap, allowing for the possibility that these animals have stereopsis. In the first experiment of the present study we measured local stereopsis by obtaining monocular and binocular depth thresholds for renal depth stimuli. On all measures, the horses' binocular performance was superior to their monocular. When depth ...

Helmholtz stereopsis has been introduced recently as a surface reconstruction technique that does not assume a model of surface reflectance. In the reported formulation, correspondence was established using a rank constraint, necessitating at least three viewpoints and three pairs of images. Here, it is revealed that the fundamental Helmholtz stereopsis constraint defines a nonlinear partial di...

This essay reviews major developments - empirical and theoretical - in the field of binocular vision during the last 25years. We limit our survey primarily to work on human stereopsis, binocular rivalry and binocular contrast summation, with discussion where relevant of single-unit neurophysiology and human brain imaging. We identify several key controversies that have stimulated important work...