Ghost imaging with the human eye

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel human ghost imaging technique that uses the human eye for computational image integration, enabling new methods for studying visual perception and eye response times.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the human eye can perform computational image integration, replacing the need for a computer in ghost imaging, and provides a new tool for visual perception research.

Findings

Eye's image persistence time is about 20 ms.

The exponential decay of visual stimuli lasts around 20 ms.

Method aligns with previous studies on visual response times.

Abstract

Computational ghost imaging relies on the decomposition of an image into patterns that are summed together with weights that measure the overlap of each pattern with the scene being imaged. These tasks rely on a computer. Here we demonstrate that the computational integration can be performed directly with the human eye. We use this human ghost imaging technique to evaluate the temporal response of the eye and establish the image persistence time to be around 20 ms followed by a further 20 ms exponential decay. These persistence times are in agreement with previous studies but can now potentially be extended to include a more precise characterisation of visual stimuli and provide a new experimental tool for the study of visual perception.