General lighting can overcome accidental viewing.

When seeing an object in a scene, the presumption of seeing that object from a general viewpoint (as opposed to an accidental viewpoint) is a useful heuristic to decide which of many interpretations of this object is correct. Similar heuristic assumptions on illumination quality might also be used for scene interpretation. Here we tested that assumption and asked if illumination information helps determine object properties when seen from an accidental viewpoint.

Virtual reality: A new track in psychological research.

One major challenge of social interaction research is to achieve high experimental control over social interactions to allow for rigorous scientific reasoning. Virtual reality (VR) promises this level of control. Pan and Hamilton guide us with a detailed review on existing and future possibilities and challenges of using VR for social interaction research.

Three-Dimensional Normal Facial Growth from Birth to the Age of 7 Years.

Background: With the advent of computer-assisted three-dimensional surface imaging and rapid data processing, oral and maxillofacial surgeons and orthodontists are enabled to analyze facial growth three dimensionally. Normative data, however, are still rare and inconsistent. The aim of the present study was to establish a valid reference system and to give normative data for facial growth.

Quantifying human sensitivity to spatio-temporal information in dynamic faces.

A great deal of perceptual and social information is conveyed by facial motion. Here, we investigated observers' sensitivity to the complex spatio-temporal information in facial expressions and what cues they use to judge the similarity of these movements. We motion-captured four facial expressions and decomposed them into time courses of semantically meaningful local facial actions (e.

Three-dimensional assessment of facial development in children with unilateral cleft lip with and without alveolar cleft.

Children with cleft lip or cleft lip and alveolus represent a minor group in the cleft population. The aim of this study was to analyze the faces of these children. In a prospective, cross-sectional study, 344 healthy children and 30 children with cleft lip or cleft lip and alveolus were scanned three-dimensionally at the age of 0 to 6 years.

Enhancing medical communication training using motion capture, perspective taking and virtual reality.

The aim of this work is to increase the effectiveness of real world medical training simulations by helping trainees gain a better understanding of the importance of communication and teamwork. Therefore we develop an online application which can be used together with real world simulations to improve training. To produce the online application we reconstructed two real world scenarios (one with students and one with practitioners) in an immersive virtual environment.

Three-dimensional assessment of facial development in children with Pierre Robin sequence.

Newborns with Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) have mandibular hypoplasia, glossoptosis, and possibly cleft palate. Their facial appearance is characteristic. The further facial development is controversial.