On the 2 November, visual artist John Jupe, came into the Studio to talk about his company Perceptual Technologies. Perceptual Technologies are pioneering a technology, creating moving images in what they call ‘Vision-Space’ as opposed to picture space, the increasingly hi-res images captured by movie/tv cameras etc. They are developing media that's inherently 3D but in unique ways more closely aligns with our natural visual awareness. Vision-Space is not on the 1,2,3D curve, instead it looks at experiential visual reality, known as ExpD.  Perceptual Technologies are modelling visual awareness in ways that contain aspects phenomenology, neuropsychology, neuroscience and physiology of the eye friendly! John opened the talk by talking about the background of PT.

Perceptual Technologies

Background
For centuries we have represented visual experience by creating pictures that conform to the laws of geometric perspective and optical projection. Most current technologies for depicting visual reality, such as cameras and 3D imaging, are based on these laws, and they have come to dominate our understanding of how visual experience functions. Following the example set by certain artists (Cézanne, Picasso, etc) some vision researchers have pointed to the disparity between this optically derived way of recording reality and the way our actual visual experience is structured in perception. John then went on to talk in more detail about Vision-Space:

Vision-Space

Vision-Space (VS) is a technology based concept challenging the conventional way visual information is displayed. It simulates how we actually see the world thus making images more realistic with improved spatial awareness and immersive qualities. VS technology includes the creation of 3D media without recourse to fusion glasses and specialist screens. Camera optics and current projection techniques cannot realise these potentials in a reliable, uniform (cross platform) and efficient manner. John believes in the future picture space (reliant on the fundamentals of optics) will be superseded by VS  (reliant on the structure of vision). John then showed us some Vision-Space demos, which you can watch by clicking on the links below:  

The butterfly
The car
The bottle of coke

In essence, vision-space appears to create crisp focal points in the centre of the action and applies distortion algorithms to the areas that correspond to peripheral vision, mimicking the focussing of the human eye as it moves around a scene.   

Advantages
Display systems using Vision-Space’s initial technology generate a natural, experiential form of 3D (ExpD). John then explained that Vision-Space is different to current commercially available forms of 3D in several ways:

-No specialist equipment is required. Vision-Space will operate with any conventional display medium, including cinema, television, internet, or photography.
-Vision-Space exploits natural properties of the human visual system to enhance visual experience and so avoids adverse health or tolerance risks associated with conventional binocular 3D technology.
-Vision-Space is future-proof. While the technology itself can always be optimised, the essential mechanisms are based on the fundamentals of human vision, which has evolved over millions of years and is not about to change.
-Vision-Space reduces significantly rendering times of computer graphics media and the bandwidth requirements for transmission of information while simultaneously increasing the apparent immersive qualities of the media.
-Vision-Space offers creative talents new opportunities to develop enhanced communication techniques that will improve the transmission of 'meaning' or content delivery.

The science and the art
Vision-Space is a fusion of vision science and visual art around the definition of perceptual structure, which includes both the configuration of data within areas across visual field and the various forms of attention that the mind develops with the data available to it from both right and left hemispheres. 

Perceptual structure looks at the characteristics of the left and right hemisphere 'realities' and how they manifest via attention into the apparent 'unity' of experiential reality.

Markets
The potential applications for Vision-Space include, computer graphics (games and animation), synthetic environments and defence applications, advertising, broadcasting and film, medial imaging and artificial intelligence. Recently 200 commercial applications were identified across 12 industries by independent consultants.

The Future
John would like to integrate eye-tracking capabilities into his existing production tool so that the perception of 3D is sustained even as the viewer moves their gaze around the image, and bodies around the room. John is working with a cross-disciplinary team from across Europe to explore the possibilities of this emerging technology.

You can find out more information and keep informed of any developments by visiting their website: http://www.perceptual-technologies.com/index.php