What object attributes determine canonical views?

We investigated preferred or canonical views for familiar and novel three-dimensional objects using computer-graphics psychophysics. We assessed the canonical views for objects by allowing participants to actively rotate realistically shaded three-dimensional models in real-time. Objects were viewed on a Silicon Graphics Workstation and manipulated in virtual space using a three degree-of-freedom input device. In the first experiment, participants adjusted each object to the viewpoint from which they would take a photograph if they planned to use the object to illustrate a brochure. In the second experiment, participants mentally imaged each object based on the name and then adjusted the object to the viewpoint from which they imagined it. In both experiments, there was a large degree of consistency across participants in terms of the preferred view for a given object. Our results provide new insights on the geometrical, experiential, and functional attributes that determine canonical views under ecological conditions