Receptive field mechanism and pupillary light reflex for the assessment of visual discomfort

Discomfort glare is defined as glare that causes discomfort without necessarily impairing the vision of objects. Traditional glare metrics fail for non-uniform luminaires. As an alternative, visual discomfort is determined by a physiological model incorporating the centre-surround receptive field mechanism and the pupillary light reflex. The pupil area, controlled by the pupillary light reflex, regulates the retinal illuminance. A centre-surround receptive field, described by a difference of Gaussians, represents the visual signal. The centre excites the signal whereas the surround controls the inhibition. A forced choice paired comparison experiment involves 7 non-uniform rear projected stimuli with different spatial frequencies. Inspired by a promising coefficient of determination of 0.90, the model is a candidate to replace current glare metrics as UGR or VCP, especially when non-uniform luminaires are to be evaluated.status: Published onlin