Visual stability and space perception in monocular vision: mathematical model.

A deterministic model for monocular space perception is presented. According to the model, retinal luminance changes due to involuntary eye movements are detected and locally analyzed to yield the angular velocity of each image point. The stable three-dimensional spatial coordinates of viewed objects are then reconstructed using a method of infinitesimal transformations. The extraction of the movement (parallax) field from the optical flow is represented by a set of differential equations, the derivation of which is based on the conservation of energy principle. The relation of the model to retinal neurophysiology and to various aspects of visual space perception is discussed.