Object interpolation in three dimensions

Perception of objects in ordinary scenes requires interpolation processes connecting visible areas across spatial gaps. Most research has focused on 2-D displays, and models have been based on 2-D, orientation-sensitive units. The authors present a view of interpolation processes as intrinsically 3-D and producing representations of contours and surfaces spanning all 3 spatial dimensions. The authors propose a theory of 3-D relatability that indicates for a given edge which orientations and positions of other edges in 3 dimensions may be connected to it, and they summarize the empirical evidence for 3-D relatability. The theory unifies and illuminates a number of fundamental issues in object formation, including the identity hypothesis in visual completion, the relations of contour and surface processes, and the separation of local and global processing. The authors suggest that 3-D interpolation and 3-D relatability have major implications for computational and neural models of object perception.