Perceptual Graphics

Virtual reality headsets are racing against a 13-millisecond deadline set by the human eye. If a VR system takes longer than that to update what a user sees after they move their head, the mismatch between motion and image triggers discomfort and breaks the illusion of being inside a virtual world. The problem is that modern VR applications demand ever more complex visuals—realistic surface textures, multiple moving objects, and simulated physics—which strain even powerful processors. This project tackles that bottleneck by studying how the human visual system actually perceives rendered images, then using that knowledge to design faster, smarter rendering algorithms. Rather than brute-forcing every pixel, the goal is to prioritise what the eye notices and cut corners where it does not. If successful, this fundamental research could make VR headsets lighter, cheaper, and more comfortable for extended use. That matters for training surgeons, architects walking clients through unbuilt buildings, or engineers inspecting virtual prototypes. It also feeds into augmented reality, where real-time visual consistency is even more critical. The work is primarily curiosity-driven—exploring the intersection of perception and computation—but past discoveries in perceptual graphics have already shaped everything from video compression to smartphone displays.