Computer Vision (9)

For a temporary moment let’s forget about 3D and depth and concentrate on one more observation related to the angle of view and the kind of image sensor we have in our eyes. When you open both your eyes you get nearly 180 deg view of your surrounding, but how much of that 180 deg can you really see or perceive? Not much, here’s how it is. There are two kinds of specialized sensors in our retina; one that is necessary for perception and the other specialized for detecting changes. The sensors responsible for perception are placed at the center of the retina in a region called the macula. These sensors are densely packed in this region and are responsible for clear vision necessary for reading and perception. To prove this, look at a particular word somewhere at the center of the page and try reading the line at the top of the page. Even though the entire page falls in the region of the visual field, you can’t really get a clear picture of whatever falls outside the macula. Cats don’t have this region at all and therefore how much ever you try, you can’t train it to read something. In the remaining region of the retina lie the other kind of sensors, which are responsible for detecting motion or changes in the surrounding. When we wave our hand in front of people to get their attention (when they are lost in some deep thought) it is this region that interrupts their brain. In our day today life we fail to observe these minor things and feel as though we can clearly see the entire 180 deg around us. So if at all you have to see something clearly you have to position your macula over it. That is the reason our eyeballs keep swaying as we look at different objects. Observe this right now!