Dr Anna Hughes, UCL "Methods and mechanisms of motion dazzle"

When: 23 November 2016, 13:00 — 15:00
Venue: Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street

No booking required

Dr Anna Hughes, UCL

"Methods and mechanisms of motion dazzle": 'Motion dazzle' is the hypothesis that certain types of patterns, such as high contrast stripes and zigzags, can cause misperceptions in the speed and direction perception of moving targets. Motion dazzle is relevant to both ecological questions, including why striped patterning may have evolved in animals such as zebras, and also for camouflage design for human purposes. I have used an interdisciplinary approach to address questions about motion dazzle in human subjects, combining techniques from psychophysics and behavioural ecology. In particular, my work has focused on considering what aspects of a target are important in creating motion dazzle effects and what specific perceptual errors are observed, with a view to understanding the phenomena at a mechanistic level. Using touch screen technology, I have replicated work showing that targets with striped markings are amongst the hardest for humans to capture, but that these effects depend upon the orientation of the stripes and whether multiple targets are present. I have also made measurements of direction judgements for targets with different patterning using psychophysical techniques. Subjects show small direction judgement errors that depend upon static stripe orientation relative to the direction of motion. Motion dazzle patterns may therefore be an effective camouflage strategy, and my work suggests putative mechanisms for the effect.

Biography: Anna carried out her PhD at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr David Tolhurst and Dr Martin Stevens, focusing on visual motion perception and how this is affected by camouflage patterns. She now works as a Teaching Fellow in Visual Perception at University College London.

Contact name: Ruben Zamora