CURVE DETECTION IN A NOISY IMAGE

In this paper we propose a new theory of the Gestalt law of good conti nuation. In this theory perceptual processes are modeled by an exponen tial pyramid algorithm. To test the new theory we performed three expe riments. The subject's task was to detect a target (a set of dots arra nged along a straight or curved line) among background dots. Detectabi lity was high when: (a) the target was long; (b) the density of target dots relative to the density of background dots was large; (c) the lo cal change of angle was small along the entire line; (d) local propert ies of the target were known to the subject. These results are consist ent with our new model and they contradict prior models. (C) 1997 Else vier Science Ltd.