Variable‐Resolution Displays for Visual Communication and Simulation

Abstract

Abstract The spatial resolution of the human visual system decreases as a function of angular distance from the direction of gaze. This fact can be exploited in various applications to increase image compression, to increase image processing speed, and to decrease access time for image data. This paper describes a multiresolution pyramid method for creating variable resolution displays in real time using general purpose computers. The location of the high resolution region(s) can be dynamically controlled by the user with a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or an eye tracker) or by an algorithm. Our method has a number of advantages: high computational speed and efficiency, smooth artifact‐free variable resolution, and compatibility with other image processing software/ hardware. Applications to video communications (MPEG) and graphic simulation are described.