The Perception and Content of Cast Shadows: An Interdisciplinary Review

Abstract

Recently, psychologists have turned their attention to the study of cast shadows and demonstrated that the human perceptual system values information from shadows very highly in the perception of spatial qualities, sometimes to the detriment of other cues. However with some notable and recent exceptions, computer vision systems treat cast shadows not as signal but as noise. This paper provides a concise yet comprehensive review of the literature on cast shadow perception from across the cognitive sciences, including the theoretical information available, the perception of shadows in human and machine vision, and the ways in which shadows can be used.     

Rhetorical shadows: The conceptual representation of incongruent shadows

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the topic of conceptual representation of shadows. We analyze several examples of contemporary imagery, taken from advertising and cartooning, to shed light on the way shadow depictions are used as rhetorical devices. Instead of being inserted as a natural phenomenon, rhetorical shadows invite the construction of meaning, and instead of being a mere natural companion of their casters, they reveal things about their casters. Three so-called “shadow incongruity types” are distinguished: (1) shadows revealing the “true nature” of their caster or the “hidden contents” of the caster’s mind; (2) shadows marking some transition their caster is involved in; and (3) shadows suggesting a certain quality attached to one of a shadow’s main ingredients (casting object, light source or surface). For each of these types of rhetorical shadows, we demonstrate that the way they convey meaning basically follows the principles of perceiving and understanding natural shadows.     

多光谱图像中云层及阴影的检测与消除

云层及阴影的检测是遥感应用领域的一个非常重要的问题。目前这方面的资料比较少，尤其是在被动接收条件下。提出了一种云层及阴影检测的算法，该算法的主要依据是云层及阴影覆盖区域高平滑性的特征，算法主要包括图像变换、亮度校正、云层及阴影的检测、滤波四个步骤。相对于现存方法而言，优点在于整个算法适合主被动接收条件，算法的处理比较简单，算法实现过程中没有很苛刻的参数选择，算法的适用范围较广。仿真结果不仅验证了上面的分析，而且表明该算法去云层及阴影的效果比较理想。