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More collisions occur at the exit ramps of expressways due to frequent lane-changing behavior and interweaving between vehicles. Young drivers with shorter driving mileage and driving experience, radical driving styles, and worse behavior prediction are likelier to be involved in collisions at the exit ramps. This paper focuses on the correlation analysis between young drivers' characteristics and their visual and physiological attributes at expressway exit ramps. First, the driver's gender, driving experience, and mileage are classified. Then, seven expressway exit models are established using the UC/Win road modeling software. The driver's driving plane vision is divided into four areas using the K-means clustering algorithm. In addition, the driver's visual and heart rate attributes were analyzed at 500 m, 300 m, 200 m, and 100 m away from an expressway exit. The results show that the visual attributes, gender, and driving mileage of young drivers strongly correlate with the fixation times and average saccade amplitude. In contrast, the driving experience has almost no correlation with the fixation behavior of young drivers. Young drivers' driving experience and mileage strongly correlate with cardiac physiological attributes, but there is virtually no correlation with gender. The practical implications of these results should be helpful to highway planners and designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Different visual environments at freeway tunnel entrance zones have varying effects on driver's visual attention, cognitive workload, and subjective mental workload. • The billboard condition attracts the highest level of visual attention from drivers, while the tip slogan condition results in the highest cognitive workload. • Evaluation using the NASA-TLX scale indicates that the tip slogan condition has the greatest impact on drivers' subjective mental workload. This study aims to evaluate the impact of different visual attraction environments at the entrance zone of freeway tunnels on drivers' visual performance and subjective mental workload. Through a naturalistic driving experiment conducted on actual roads, participants experienced various visual attraction environments at the entrance zones of freeway tunnels. The selected visual environments included baseline, landscape-style architecture, tip slogan, and billboard scenarios. Objective visual performance was assessed using eye-tracking devices to collect participants' eye movement data, while subjective mental workload was evaluated through the NASA-TLX measurement reports administered after the driving experiment. The results indicate that the visual attraction environments at the entrance zone of freeway tunnels have significant impacts on drivers' visual attention level, cognitive workload, and subjective mental workload. Under the billboard condition, participants exhibited the longest first fixation duration (FFD) and paid the earliest attention to visual attraction (reflected by participants positioned their initial fixation at the visual attraction farthest from the tunnel entrance zone (DFT)). Additionally, the tip slogan condition resulted in the highest mean fixation duration (MFD), the largest percentage of total fixation duration on the visual attraction (PTFD), and the highest cognitive workload (reflected in maximum pupil diameter (PD)). Billboard at the entrance zone of freeway tunnel had the greatest effect on attracting drivers' visual attention, while tip slogan resulted in the highest cognitive workload on drivers. The results of the subjective mental workload evaluation (NASA-TLX) also indicated that tip slogan had the greatest impact on drivers' subjective mental workload. This study provides valuable insights into the potential impact of different visual attraction environments at the entrance zone of freeway tunnels on drivers' eye-catching effect. The results contribute to both theoretical knowledge and practical applications in the field of transportation safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The driver's PRT was measured according to the visual fixation characteristics (using an eye-tracking device) and vehicle running data. • The PRT was measured in the interchange exit ramps. • These findings should serve as a valuable reference for refining the design of plateau expressway exit ramps and providing a theoretical basis for improving road safety in the plateau areas. The low-pressure (and low-oxygen) environment in plateau regions significantly impacts the driver's perception-reaction time (PRT) and, in turn, road safety. However, drivers faced increased workloads at interchange exit areas while the Tibet region experienced a significant improvement in high-grade highway construction. Therefore, this study aimed to quantitatively analyze the influence of the plateau environment on PRT. Using a UC/win-road simulator, 6 scenarios of expressway exit ramps were constructed. Then, a total of 50 participants (35 males, 15 females) in Nanjing (altitude of 50 m) and 50 participants (36 males, 14 females) in Lhasa (altitude of 3650 m) were recruited for the simulation experiments. The driver's PRT was measured according to the visual fixation characteristics (using an eye-tracking device) and vehicle running data. The no-difference in PRT for various scenarios was validated using the one-way-ANOVA test. Then, the Spearman bivariate correlation and generalized linear regression model were used to analyze the influence of driver's age, driving experience, gender, and acclimation period on PRT. In addition, the difference in PRT of different groups of plain and plateau drivers was further analyzed using the Mann-Whiteney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Although driving experience and gender affected the PRT of the plain and plateau drivers, the effect was greater in the plain areas. The low-pressure environment at high altitude had a more significant impact on young novice male drivers. These findings serve as valuable references for refining the design of expressway exit ramps and improving road safety in the plateau areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, some expressway tunnels have started broadcasting warning sounds, such as fire alarms, to improve driver attention and traffic safety. However, there is few research on it, and in contrast to previous studies, we have considered different evaluation indices and through field measurement to determine the effectiveness of this practice. The characteristics of three warning sound signals, i.e., fire alarm, dynamic music, and voice command, in a tunnel were analyzed usingMATLAB. Considering pupil diameter and blink duration as evaluation indexes, the change in the mental state of the driver after hearing a warning sound was analyzed. Based on Markov chain theory, the change in the gaze region and gaze shift of the driver under the condition of a warning sound was analyzed. Results shows fire alarms and voice commands can increase the mental load of drivers, but the degree of impact was not determined. Dynamic music does not affect the mental load of the driver. The fire alarm and dynamic music attracted the attention of the driver; conversely, as the voice command warns the driver to focus on safety, it did not impact the attention of the driver. The research results provide a scientific reference for the selection of warning sounds in expressway tunnels and new research ideas for the prevention of traffic injuries in expressway tunnels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposes an augmented reality serious game (ARSG) for supporting individuals with motor disabilities while controlling robotic wheelchairs. A racing track was used as the game narrative; this included restriction areas, static and dynamic virtual objects, as well as obstacles and signs. To experience the game, a prior configuration of the environment, made through a smartphone or a computer, was required. Furthermore, a visualization tool was developed to exhibit user performance while using the ARSG. Two user studies were conducted with 10 and 20 participants, respectively, to compare (1) how different devices enable configuring the ARSG, and (2) different tracking capabilities, i.e., methods used to place virtual content on the real-world environment while the user interacts with the game and controls the wheelchair in the physical space: C1—motion tracking using cloud anchors; C2—offline motion tracking. Results suggest that configuring the environment with the computer is more efficient and accurate, in contrast to the smartphone, which is characterized as more engaging. In addition, condition C1 stood out as more accurate and robust, while condition C2 appeared to be easier to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the traffic safety at the entrance and exit of subsea tunnel, the variation law of driver􀆳s visual characteristics under different visual deceleration marking schemes at the entrance and exit of subsea tunnel was studied. Six visual deceleration marking schemes were set up, and the indoor driving simulation experiments were carried out on 26 drivers. The data such as vehicle speed, proportion of view points, pupil diameter and detection distance were collected. Through analyzing and processing the data to judge the effectiveness of visual deceleration marking, the regression models of vehicle speed and driver pupil diameter at the entrance and exit of subsea tunnel were established respectively, and the relationship between them was nonlinear at the entrance of subsea tunnel, the relationship between them was linear at the exit of subsea tunnel. The validity of visual deceleration marking was verified by driver questionnaire. The results show that the six visual deceleration marking schemes at the entrance and exit of subsea tunnel have a significant impact on the driver's visual characteristics. Compared with other marking schemes, the setting of white fishbone deceleration marking has the greatest impact on the driver's pupil diameter, the proportion of view points in area A, the detection distance and illusion influence, which helps the driver actively reduce the speed, take deceleration measures in advance and ensure driving safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connected vehicle technology relying on Human Machine Interface (HMI) achieve a dominant position in the overall safety improvement. However, the impact of HMI on the driver's visual attention cannot be ignored, especially on the accident-prone foggy freeway. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the level of distraction caused by HMI in data analysis of drivers' visual characteristics and to establish a generic evaluation methodology. A connected vehicle test platform has been established based on the driving simulator, in which visibility was set to the level of heavy fog and the technical condition was set in two conditions (with or without HMI). Measurement of driving behavior parameters include frequency of fixations and saccades and the proportion of fixation. The researchers compared and analyzed the driver's visual characteristics and the degree of distraction in a combination of indices based on the AttenD algorithm, setting two technical conditions in a heavy fog. Drivers suffering more visual distraction and interference with HMI may have an impact on the driver's driving safety. The results provide a generic approach to evaluate the HMI of a connected vehicle system and a safety assessment methodology for the connected vehicle system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the efficiency of drivers' visual recognition of traffic signs, an evaluation system of visual recognition efficiency of road signs in scenic spots was constructed. The field eye - tracking experiment was designed and data of drivers' visual recognition of traffic signs in scenic spots were collected. Based on the data variation rule and index characteristics, the optimal value and the critical value of the eye movement characteristic data were analyzed and the evaluation index set of traffic sign recognition efficiency was established. Then, support vector machine - recursive feature elimination was used to rank the significance of evaluation indexes to determine the degree of influence of each evaluation index on the evaluation system. In addition, the calibration index of efficacy coefficient method was adopted to establish the evaluation system of visual recognition efficiency. Finally, the system was used to evaluate the visual recognition in Nanjing Zhongshan Mountain National Park and some suggestions on improvement and optimization of traffic sign setting from the perspective of visual recognition efficiency were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In highway traffic, different traffic signs have different influences on the driver's gaze behavior, affecting the safety of drivers and highway driving. To solve this matter, the research based on visual characteristic analysis aims to scientifically evaluate such influences, thereby indirectly reducing the occurrence of highway traffic accidents. Via designing tests to simulate the influence of highway traffic signs on curve highway sections on driver's visual system, our study adopted the eye tracking system as the visual characteristic acquisition device in the test; then this paper used gaze duration, gaze frequency, and average glance speed as the evaluation indicators of gaze behavior to compare the influence of different traffic signs on the gaze behavior and analyze the variation laws. Moreover, to further evaluate the influence of traffic signs on the safe driving behavior of drivers, based on the test results, this paper also gave a qualitative evaluation on the driver's visual load in highway road sections with different traffic signs. The test results in this paper provide scientific suggestions for the layout of highway traffic signs so as to effectively reduce the occurrence of highway traffic accidents, and this study is of important practical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further satisfy the needs of visual perception, a computer image segmentation algorithm based on visual characteristics is proposed. The computer image geometric features are linearly segmented to obtain multiple sub-panels and various geometric features of each sub-panel are extracted. The geometric features are input as low-level features into the deep neural network model to learn to generate high-level features. Finally, based on the high-level features, the clustering center is obtained by Gaussian mixture model, and the final segmentation result is obtained by using graph cut. The results of experiments on Princeton standard data set and COSEG dataset show that the rand index RI value is the best value for each 3D model, which shows that the proposed method is better than the traditional segmentation method. It has good consistent segmentation results. The research showed that using a variety of geometric features compared to a single geometric feature, the obtained features have a more comprehensive geometric meaning, which can effectively make image segmentation meet the visual characteristics requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: According to previous research, locus of control (LOC) has a crucial role in an individual's psychological well-being. The purpose of this study was 3-fold: (1) comparing LOC of college students with and without visual impairments while controlling for gender, educational level, and age; (2) investigating the relationship between LOC and visual characteristics in college students with visual impairments; and (3) predicting LOC of these students using their visual characteristics. Methods: The design of this study was causal-comparative. The statistical population included a sample of college students with and without visual impairments who were enrolled at the University of Isfahan, Iran. Fifteen of the 20 college students with visual impairments were selected through convenience sampling and amongst sighted students, 15 individuals were selected in a way that they were matched with college students with visual impairment regarding gender, educational level, and age. The Rotter Locus of Control Scale was used to measure LOC. Also, visual impairment characteristics and demographic data were collected. The results were analyzed by t-test and stepwise regression analysis. Results: Results indicated no significant difference between LOC of college students with and without visual impairments (p > .05), and both groups tended to have internal LOC on average. The results indicated that adjustment to visual impairment and the recent status of visual impairment might predict the LOC of a college student who is visually impaired and explained 59.2% of its variance with this sample (p < .005). Discussion: LOC of college students with visual impairments was similar to their sighted counterparts. The better adjusted the person was to his or her visual impairment and the less worsening the status of visual impairment was, the higher internal LOC he or she had. Implications for practitioners: Families and society can help individuals with visual impairments build their internal LOC, by teaching them how to adjust to their disability and providing them the conditions to increase their independence. At the same time, preparing them for entering university may also help them develop their sense of internal LOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We examined attitudes and purchase likelihood for visually sub-optimal apples. • Explicit and implicit measures had predictive validity regarding purchase decisions. • An implicit measure was better in predicting when consumers would reject apples. • An explicit measure was better in predicting when consumers would accept apples. Abstract Consumers are faced with daily choices on what foods to buy and eat. Visual characteristics of foods evoke in consumers both positive and negative attitudes, depending on the level of visual optimality or sub-optimality. These attitudes also play a critical role in purchase decision making. In this study we examined the food decision-making process and the extent to which explicit and implicit measures of visual optimality can predict purchase likelihood. In an online study with 608 Swedish consumers, we performed an implicit association test and used a questionnaire to measure consumers' explicit attitudes and purchase likelihood for optimal and sub-optimal apples. We also assessed the temporal stability of purchase likelihood in a re-test performed three weeks after the first test. The results showed that both explicit and implicit measures had predictive validity, but that the explicit measure was better in predicting when consumers would buy apples, while the implicit measure was better in predicting when consumers would reject apples. It was clear that consumers preferred visually optimal apples, but visually sub-optimal apples were not entirely rejected and the purchase likelihood remained stable throughout the experiment. We applied these results to draw up some recommendations on approaches to generate consumer acceptance and adoption of visually sub-optimal food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image quality assessment plays an important role in remote sensing image fusion. Research on objective evaluation methods is of great value in this field. Because the fused images will be observed by human finally, the best objective evaluation index of image quality should be consistent with the subjective evaluation. After the human visual characteristics are introduced into, image quality e-valuation method can get better result. Therefore, based on the multi channels decomposition and contrast sensitivity characteristics of human visual system, this paper proposes a new method to evaluate the fusion quality of panchromatic image and multispectral image. Firstly, the color distortion and structural similarity are modified to evaluate the spectral information and spatial information respectively. Secondly, they are integrated as the overall evaluation of fused image. According to the experiment evaluating quality of different fused images by SPOT image data and GF-2 image data, it proves that the proposed method is in good agreement with the subjective evaluation when the remote sensing image is high resolution data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The visual plane of human–computer interaction has a great influence on the perception of color images. The author proposes the use of visual communication in the development and optimization of human–computer interface graphics. The local contrast of the plane vision image can be improved according to the relationship between the current and the pixel area, and the full description of the plane vision image in human–computer interaction is better. The maximum time taken to clarify image color using this system was 0.2 s less than the Binocular Vision Enhancement system and 0.18 s less than the Mark Visibility Enhancement system; When this system is used to enhance the color of the composite image, the maximum time consumption is 0.18 s, which is 0.37 s less than the binocular vision enhancement system. The system requires the shortest time and has the best performance for processing color images. The design improves the color accuracy of the image plane on the human–computer interaction page, and the processing speed is fast for processing simple and normal images and complex images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halftone images produced by error diffusion algorithms suffer from texture structures that decrease their visual qualities, such as worm-like and stripe-like defects. An effective quality evaluation metric is needed to evaluate various error diffusion halftoning algorithms and their corresponding halftone images. A texture distortion evaluation metric (TDEM) is proposed to measure the texture distortions within the referenced halftoned greyscale images. First, the weights of different tonal regions were assigned based on the two types of visual objects available and the locations of the texture structures. Then, based on image structure correlations and human visual characteristics, a block operation was performed and TDEM values were obtained by summing the local block-weighted variances based on image information. The proposed metric was validated using objective comparison and psycho-visual experiments. Results indicate that the metric can measure texture distortions effectively, and that the results are consistent with subjective visual perception. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Movement areas of urban life are roads, parks, squares and city centres. As Lynch (1960) defines, cities have path, edges, districts, landmarks and nodes. These form characteristics enable to find a way and direction in the city, perform urban activities. These urban components provide a permanent visual integrity on urban identity in the mind. The urban components have various functions, scope and visual features such as cityscape, historical pattern, city squares, central business districts, streets, facades, parks, urban furniture, signal elements, sculptures and ait elements. Urban furniture include benches, lighting equipments, bins, directive signboards at parks and central areas. Urban furniture make the life at urban outdoors easy and they should be designed considering their visual features harmonising with environment. The aim of this study is to research how urban furniture can harmonize with urban identity and life on the basis of the assignments of the students of department of industrial design. The evaluation will be carried out through project images of design students as a method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital x-ray medical image with human visual characteristics is a kind of medical image formed by x-ray irradiation. Currently, medical image processing algorithm is the main hot topic. With the popularization of medical images in clinical diagnosis and the development of computer technology, the accuracy of clinical diagnosis can be greatly improved using medical image processing technology. For digital x-ray imaging in medical system, it is inevitable that the quality of medical image will be degraded by various factors, so it needs to be processed before they can be used. At the same time, with the development of medical digital x-ray detector technology, the range of medical images used will be much smaller than that of detectors. The medical digital x-ray image data received after detection also need to be processed by an effective image-processing algorithm before display. On the other hand, the research, analysis, and diagnostic use of computer in medical images can appropriately reduce the work intensity of doctors or medical staff, and also play an important role in the discovery of certain diseases. A method of digital x-ray medical image enhancement based on human visual characteristics is studied by analyzing the characteristics of histogram of x-ray image and the maximum entropy fuzzy threshold image enhancement algorithm. The experimental results show that the method can fully recognize the medical x-ray images with incorrect exposure, enhancing the effect of digital x-ray imaging and improving the recognition rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Coromandel Volcanic Zone includes nine geographically discrete obsidian sources (Fanal, Awana, Te Ahumata, Cooks Beach, Hahei, Tairua, Whangamata, Maratoto and Waihi). Each has a distinctive chemical composition, and some can also be differentiated on the basis of visual characteristics of the obsidian. Chemically, the three northern sources (Fanal, Awana, Te Ahumata), constituting the ‘Great Barrier Group’, are distinguished by high Rb concentrations and a high Rb/Sr ratio. Obsidian from six of the sources is known to have been utilized by pre-European Maori for the manufacture of flake tools, but at present there is no evidence for exploitation of the Awana, Maratoto and Tairua deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The goal of this study was to investigate how the eyes of different species of moray eel evolved to cope with limitations to vision imposed on them by the photic environments in which they reside. The comparative retinal histological structures and visual pigment characteristics including opsin gene sequences, of four species of moray eel inhabiting diverse habitats (i.e., shallow-water species, Rhinomuraena quaesita and Gymnothorax favagineus, and deep-sea species, Gymnothorax reticularis and Strophidon sathete) were examined. The histological sections showed that retinal layer structures of R. quaestia are significantly different from those of the other three species which likely reflects the effects of distribution depth on the structures. The maximal absorbance wavelength (λ max) of photoreceptor cells, as measured by microspectrophotometry (MSP), showed a close correlation between the λ max and the intensity/spectral quality of the light environment where each species lives. The spectra-shift, between shallow and deep-sea species, observed in the rods cells results from amino acid substitution in Rh1 gene, while that in cones most likely results from differential expression of multiple Rh2 genes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Nine typical traffic hazard scenarios were carried out at Linzhi, Lhasa, Naqu, and Yanghu Scenic Area based on UC-WIN / ROAD driving simulation software. • Drivers' visual search modes in the plateau areas were analyzed according to drivers' eye movement data collected by ASL Mobile Eye monocular eye tracker. • The increase of altitude would weaken the drivers' visual sensitivity and cognitive processing ability of hazard information, which would reduce drivers' hazard perception skills, and the increase of driving experience might help alleviate such negative impacts to some extent. A good visual search mode is an important prerequisite for a driver to perceive the hazard in the traffic environment timely and accurately. However, hypoxia conditions in the plateau environment might affect drivers' cognitive and judgment ability, posing potential threats to safe driving. This study analyzed the eye movement behaviors of drivers when faced with traffic hazards in the plateau environment, to examine the impact level of altitude on drivers' perception and reaction. Nine typical traffic hazard scenarios were investigated at four locations with four different altitudes, including Linzhi, Lhasa, Naqu, and Yanghu Scenic Area based on UC-WIN / ROAD driving simulation software. Then, drivers' visual search modes were analyzed according to drivers' eye movement data collected by ASL Mobile Eye monocular eye tracker. As the altitude increased, the drivers' first fixation time and the average saccade amplitude decreased, while the fixation duration percentage increased. Drivers with fewer years of driving experience had a larger percentage of fixation duration and a smaller saccade amplitude. In addition, a shorter acclimation period also negatively influenced the percentage of fixation time. The increase of altitude would weaken the drivers' visual sensitivity and cognitive processing ability of hazard information, which would reduce drivers' hazard perception skills, and the increase of driving experience might help alleviate such negative impacts to some extent. Based on the visual characteristics of traffic hazard scenarios obtained in this paper, the training of highly accident-prone drivers can be guided specifically to improve their visual search strategies, thereby improving driving safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Evaluation of observer''s image perception in medical images is important, and yet has not been performed because it is difficult to quantify visual characteristics. In the present study, we investigated the observer''s image perception by clustering a group of 20 observers. Images of a contrast–detail (C–D) phantom, which had cylinders of 10 rows and 10 columns with different diameters and lengths, were acquired with an X-ray screen-film system with fixed exposure conditions. A group of 10 films were prepared for visual evaluations. Sixteen radiological technicians, three radiologists and one medical physicist participated in the observation test. All observers read the phantom radiographs on a transillumination image viewer with room lights off. The detectability was defined as the shortest length of the cylinders of which border the observers could recognize from the background, and was recorded using the number of columns. The detectability was calculated as the average of 10 readings for each observer, and plotted for different phantom diameter. The unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) was adopted for clustering. The observers were clustered into two groups: one group selected objects with a demarcation from the vicinity, and the other group searched for the objects with their eyes constrained. This study showed a usefulness of the cluster method to select personnels with the similar perceptual predisposition when a C–D phantom was used in image quality control. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The authors propose a method for quantifying the edge degradation of a coded image produced by aliasing distortion or block distortion based on the change in its shape. Essentially, when a change is generated in a smooth portion, a human can quickly detect it. With conventional techniques based on signal differences, it was difficult to assess a geometric distortion for which continuity or uniformity changed. The proposed technique obtains mutually corresponding edge segments for the original image and coded image and quantifies the shape degradation based on their curvature. To match subjective assessments, the measure that was obtained takes into consideration (1) the spatial size of the shape change, (2) the shape error masking effect, and (3) the edge gradient (contrast) effect in the quantification process. The authors performed simulations for several standard images while changing the coding rate and coding method, and the results that were obtained reflected the impressions of the images well. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 87(8): 9–23, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.10157 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosin was used to treat round bamboo culm using the impregnation method. The quantitative color and gloss measurements combined with a qualitative eye tracking experiment were used to evaluate the effect of rosin treatment under different temperatures on the visual characteristics of the bamboo surface. Surface morphology analysis was also used to explore the mechanism of modification. The results showed that proper heating of the modified system was conducive to the formation of a continuous rosin film, which increased the gloss value. The maximum gloss value of 19.6 achieved at 50 °C was 122.7% higher than the gloss value of the control group. Heating decreased the brightness of the bamboo culm and changed the color from the green and yellow tones to red and blue. Additionally, at temperatures higher than 60 °C, the bamboo epidermal layer was damaged or shed, and stripes formed on the culm surface. The density of these stripes increased with an increase in treatment temperature. Eye movement experiment and subjective evaluation showed that high gloss would produce dazzling feeling, such as at 50 °C, while low gloss will appear dim, such as at 80 °C, while the gloss at 40 °C and 60 °C were appropriate. Additionally, the solid color surface below 60 °C had a large audience of about 73%, and the striped surface above 60 °C was preferred by 27% of the subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Molten pool can be divided into three regions to describe LDED process. • Coaxial visual characteristics can reflect metallurgical behaviors of molten pool. • There is a definite relationship between visual and temperature characteristics. • Visual characteristics can be used to monitor process state and product qualities. Laser-based directed energy deposition (LDED), an additive manufacturing technique, has received increasing attention from the industry and academia. Unstable reliability and poor repeatability in the production of metal parts are two challenges currently faced by LDED. In-situ monitoring and adaptive control technology based on visual characteristics serves as effective methods to ensure part quality and process stability. Although molten pools directly influence metallurgical behaviors in LDED, their visual characteristics still require further investigation. In this work, a coaxial visual image of a molten pool was captured during the LDED of 316 L material and divided into three regions. Then, the evolutionary behaviors of different regions during single-layer single-track processing, multi-layer one-track stacking, and one-layer multi-track overlapping were analyzed. Additionally, the metallurgical behaviors of the molten pool, including the formation mechanisms of slag characteristics, were explicated. Results showed that molten pool characteristics could be presented and described with visual images reasonably. These characteristics could indicate the state of melting, heat conduction and convection, and overlapping position. Meanwhile, coaxial visual characteristics were closely related to product qualities. This work could enhance the understanding of LDED process mechanisms and improve real-time monitoring capability. The proposed approach for the determination of molten pool characteristics is expected to be applicable to other materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presented two methods, multi-line superposition and multi-pixel rendering, for drawing contour based on visual characteristics to improve results generated by traditional methods. The multi-line superposition method referred to a number of different transparency straight line superimposed drawing, and the multi-pixel rendering referred to regard a straight line as a rectangle having a certain area. Then it gave transparency value of pixels based on the distance between the pixels and the center straight-line. The experimental results show that contour image generated by these two contour methods are visually softer and more attractive for human-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Visual sub-optimality has a significant impact on how food is experienced. • Emotions and attitudes are key mediators between sub-optimal apples and expected liking. • After tasting, actual liking significantly differs from expected liking. • Colour and shape sub-optimality have a higher chance to be chosen than physical damage. Food appearance is an important determinant for expected and actual liking, but some food is not even available for purchase due to visual imperfections. In two studies conducted with 130 participants in Sweden, we measured consumers' expected and actual liking for different apples with three types of visual imperfection (color, shape and damage). We investigated the effects of apples' visual characteristics on expected liking and whether or not this relationship is mediated by emotions and attitudes. Secondly, we investigated how actual liking differed between the groups of apples, and how it differed from expected liking. Results indicated that attitudes are the strongest mediator between visual characteristics of apples and expected liking. Moreover, participants indicated higher expected liking for color and shape imperfections relative to damaged apples. Results from the second study indicated a significant difference between expected and actual liking, and less variability in actual liking between the apple groups relative to the variability in expected liking. It can be concluded that the visual characteristics of apples influence both expected and actual liking, the practical implication for retailers being a need to carefully distinguish between the different types of visual sub-optimality and to keep the products that have a higher chance to be chosen (sub-optimal in shape and colour). Thus, these results generate a clearer understanding of visual sub-optimality, and can be incorporated in strategies for reducing food waste in stores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a method for obtaining driver's fixation points and establishing a preview model based on actual vehicle tests. Firstly, eight drivers were recruited to carry out the actual vehicle test on the actual straight and curved roads. The curvature radii of test curved roads were selected to be 200, 800, and 1500 m. Subjects were required to drive at a speed of 50, 70 and 90 km/h, respectively. During the driving process, eye movement data of drivers were collected using a head-mounted eye tracker, and road front scene images and vehicle statuses were collected simultaneously. An image-world coordinate mapping model of the visual information of drivers was constructed by performing an image distortion correction and matching the images from the driving recorder. Then, fixation point data for drivers were accordingly obtained using the Identification-Deviation Threshold (I-DT) algorithm. In addition, the Jarque–Bera test was used to verify the normal distribution characteristics of these data and to fit the distribution parameters of the normal function. Furthermore, the preview points were extracted accordingly and projected into the world coordinate. At last, the preview data obtained under these conditions are fit to build general preview time probability density maps for different driving speeds and road curvatures. This study extracts the preview characteristics of drivers through actual vehicle tests, which provides a visual behavior reference for the humanized vehicle control of an intelligent vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]