Motion Perception

Motion Perception: Motion perception is the process of inferring the speed and direction of objects that move in a visual scene given some visual input.

Motion Perception is relatively difficult to explain and there is still more to be learned about it. In order to find the speed and direction of an object the human brain has to compare it to its surroundings. For example, if a ball is thrown in the middle of a field we know how fast the ball is going by assuming the surroundings (the field) is still and comparing their speeds. However, if the same ball is thrown in a bus moving ten miles per hour it may appear to be moving the same speed as in the field when in reality it is actually moving ten miles per hour faster since we assume our surroundings, the bus, is still when in fact it is moving ten miles per hour. Our brain also detects motion by taking very quick snap shots and putting them together to form what appears to be a continuously moving scene. Between these snap shots or when we blink are mind fills in the information it thinks we are missing. Examples of this continuous motion illusion can be found in the film of old movies.