A method for measuring perception of an observer comprises a) selecting a first, second, and third stimulus and presenting the stimuli to the observer; b) determining observer-defined fourth stimulus such that the observer perceives the fourth stimulus to be related to the third stimulus in the same way as the observer perceives the second stimulus to be related to the first stimulus; c) selecting a new first, second, and third stimulus, at least one of the new stimuli corresponding to a stimulus point that is different from the stimulus points corresponding to the previously selected stimulus; d) determining a new observer-defined fourth stimulus such that the observer perceives the new fourth stimulus to be related to the new third stimulus in the same way as the observer perceives the new second stimulus to be related to the new first stimulus; and e) performing steps (c) through (d) until a predetermined number of sets of four stimuli are determined.
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/691,615 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,736 filed Aug. 2, 1996 entitled Method and Apparatus for Measurement, Analysis, Characterization, Emulation, and Translation of Perception.
A mathematical relation between base variables (x1, x2, . . . , xp), when a set of input data d is composed of p base variables (x1, x2, . . . , xp), and a plurality of data sets d (i) of such data set d is inputted, the data sets d(i) are distinguished by an input data distinguishing parameter i. When victors in a q dimensional space, mapped from the input data through q base functions (f1, . . . , fq), form a plane, a mathematical relation can be a linear combination of the base functions. A set of base functions (f1, . . . , fq) are prepared. Sets of the values F(i)=(F1i, . . . , Fqi) of the base functions corresponding to the input data d (i) are acquired. The sets F(i) are considered points in a q dimensional space. Direction cosine of a mapping plane is acquired through cofactors of a determinant of these points, or by solving an eigenvalue problem for determining a plane, the square sum of the perpendicular lines from these points to the plane is minimum. When the direction cosine of the plane is (L1, . . . , Lq), the following mathematical relation is outputted:
A processing device generates a model of a tree in a given arbitrary space, reshapes the tree based on the nodes included in the tree, and outputs a reshape result. By repeating the reshape of the tree while examining the cost value of a reshaped tree, a local Steiner tree with a good cost value is obtained. A network shape is optimized by using the obtained local Steiner tree.
The inventive method and apparatus include sensory devices that invariantly represent stimuli in the presence of processes that cause systematic sensor state transformations. Such processes include: 1) alterations of the device's detector, 2) changes in the observational environment external to the sensory device and the stimuli, and 3) certain modifications of the presentation of the stimuli themselves. A specific embodiment of the present invention is an intelligent sensory device having a "front end" comprised of such a representation "engine". The detectors of such a sensory device need not be recalibrated, and its pattern analysis module need not be retrained, in order to account for the presence of the above-mentioned transformative processes. Another embodiment of the present invention is a communications system that encodes messages as representations of signals. The message is not corrupted by signal transformations due to a wide variety of processes affecting the transmitters, receivers, and the channels between them.
