Object Perception and Recognition
Perceived objects are unitary entities that enter our consciousness as organized wholes distinct from other entities and from empty parts of the environment, that are amenable to bodily interactions, and that possess several features such as a three-dimensional structure, a location in space, a colour, a texture, a weight, a degree of rigidity, an odour, and so on. In this chapter, we will discuss perceptual processes responsible for forming such units within and between sensory channels, typically for the purpose of recognition. Our discussion of multisensory interactions in object perception will provide a useful domain for illustrating the key notion of optimal multisensory integration and for introducing Bayesian models of perception. These models provide important novel ways of addressing classical problems in the philosophy of perception, in influential historical approaches such as the Gestalt theory of perception, and in applications to rehabilitation based on sensory substitution.