Artificial movements of a stabilized image.

Abstract Stabilization experiments are described in which an object, mounted in the rotor of a small electric synchronous motor, can be rotated eccentrically. This motor is fixed in a cap which is sucked onto the eyeball. In this way it was possible to imitate the drift, the saccadic and the tremor movements of the eye, and to study their influence on perception. It was found that drift imitating movements regenerate (fill in) a disappeared object. The movements imitating the saccades and tremor were never effective in restoring normal vision. The influence of the location on retina was studied. An analysis of the observed effects is given according to the model of activity spread and spread preventing barriers. The explanation makes clear that, in normal vision, the drift is responsible for continued perception and that the tremor and saccades do not function for this purpose.