Hybrid image

Golf ball as a hybrid image. When the image is small, only the golf ball can be seen; when enlarged, a different spherical structure increasingly appears.

A hybrid image is an optical illusion designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Aude Oliva (MIT), Philippe G. Schyns ( University of Glasgow ) and Antonio Torralba (MIT) were in charge .

Hybrid images are created by superimposing two similar images on the computer. One image is blurred beforehand with a low-pass filter in order to obtain only the low spatial frequencies , while the other image, on the other hand, removes the low spatial frequencies with the aid of a high-pass filter .

In the vicinity, the more detailed image dominates. If you move away from the picture, its fine contours become blurred and the other picture, consisting of the soft colored surfaces, comes out more clearly. The viewing distances for the perception of the optical change are related to the size of the image and the eyesight of the viewer. In myopic people, just taking off the glasses can have the effect.

Web links

• More sample images
• How images are created in the head - article at Focus.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ACM, 2006, Hybrid images (PDF; 576 kB)