The Distribution of Observer Detection Thresholds and the Concept of the Contrast Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Abstract

A recent experiment was performed at Memphis State University to study the detection of four-bar (square-wave), 7:1 aspect-ratio targets in the presence of noise. The targets were presented on a video display to which broadband white noise was added. In addition, the experimental parameters of target spatial frequency and target contrast were varied. Eighty-four observers participated in the experiment, recording almost 3000 observations. Analysis of the experimental data has led to two important results. The first (and foremost) result is that the threshold of detection for observers is distributed log-normally. The second result is the formulation of a transformation (based on the concept of "contrast signal-to-noise") which normalizes observer detection responses with respect to different target-to-background contrasts.

Notes

This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your thesis or dissertation, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by STARS for more information.

Graduation Date

1989

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Boreman, Glenn

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Engineering

Department

Electrical Engineering and Communication Sciences

Format

PDF

Pages

91 p.

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0027042

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Engineering; Engineering -- Dissertations, Academic

Accessibility Status

Searchable text

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS