Modeling Eye Movements

Eye movements are integral to human vision because they allow us to shift the high-resolution, central part of the retina (the fovea) to scrutinize different areas of interest in detail. Meanwhile, our lower-resolution peripheral vision keeps track of the rest of the visual field at a coarser level.

I am collaborating on a project (initiated by Laura Renninger and in collaboration with Preeti Verghese) on a model of eye movements based on the simple premise that we move our eyes to maximize the expected gain in visual information. We hope that this model may be useful not only for understanding the normal functioning of the human visual system but also in providing practical insights into how people who lose their central vision can best use their remaining vision.