Cite as:
Beer J, Voelker J J, 2007, "Using a theoretical straylight model to predict glare disability in real-world perception" Perception 36 ECVP Abstract Supplement

Using a theoretical straylight model to predict glare disability in real-world perception

J Beer, J J Voelker

Glare disability comprises visual impairment that occurs during exposure to a strong light source. It results from intraocular straylight, which surrounds the source in the visual field and effectively lightens the background. This can make stimuli difficult to distinguish, sometimes even when they are visually distant from the source. A succession of expressions has evolved to predict the geometry of glare effects. We combined the 2003 Vos straylight function with a piecewise visual response model of Ferwerda to predict glare disruption in real-world conditions. Our model accepts multiple input variables to characterize the source (illuminance, range, divergence, spectral composition), the viewer (age, ocular pigmentation), the viewing conditions (background luminance), and the target stimulus (contrast and size). Its output comprises indices of threshold elevation, which may be expressed either as equivalent background luminance or as field-of-view-obscured. The model is now being tested for application in vehicle-control environments and refined to operate in specialized conditions including coherent monochromatic sources and murky atmospherics.

[Supported cooperatively by Boeing R&D, and the Naval Health Research Center Detachment.]

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