A proposed increase in retinal field-of-view may lead to spatial shifts in images

TL;DR

This study shows that increasing the retinal field-of-view using optically dense fluids causes spatial shifts in retinal images, potentially affecting egocentric object perception and revealing a new role for ocular fluids.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of increasing retinal FOV with dense fluids and demonstrates resulting spatial shifts, suggesting a new functional role for ocular fluids in vision.

Findings

Increased FOV observed with dense ocular fluids

Spatial shifts in retinal images towards the fovea

Implications for egocentric object perception

Abstract

Visual information determines majority of our spatial behavior. The eye projects a 2-D image of the world on the retina. We demonstrate that when a monocular-like imaging system operates entirely with optically dense fluids, an increase in field-of-view (FOV) is observed compared to an experimental condition, where the ocular medium is optically neutral. Resulting spatial shifts in the retinal image towards the fovea complement the photoreceptor distribution pattern, incidentally revealing a new role for ocular fluids in the image space. Possible effects on the perceived egocentric object location are discussed.