Visual perception involves spatially and temporally coordinated variations in diverse physical systems: environmental surfaces and symbols, optical images, electro-chemical activity in neural networks, muscles, and bodily movements—each with a distinctly different material structure and energy. The fundamental problem in the theory of perception is to characterize the information that enables both perceptual awareness and real-time dynamic coordination of these diverse physical systems. Gibson's psychophysical and ecological conception of this problem differed from that of mainstream science both then and now. The present article aims to incorporate Gibson's ideas within a general conception of information for visual perception. We emphasize the essential role of spatiotemporal form, in contrast with symbolic information. We consider contemporary understanding of surface structure, optical images, and optic flow. Finally, we consider recent evidence about capacity limitations on the rate of visual perception and implications for the ecology of vision.

视觉感知涉及不同物理系统的空间和时间协调变化：环境表面和符号、光学图像、神经网络中的电化学活动、肌肉和身体运动——每一个都具有明显不同的材料结构和能量。感知理论中的基本问题是描述能够实现感知感知和这些不同物理系统的实时动态协调的信息。吉布森对这个问题的心理物理学和生态学概念与当时和现在的主流科学不同。本文旨在将吉布森的想法纳入视觉感知信息的一般概念中。与符号信息相比，我们强调时空形式的重要作用。我们考虑当代对表面结构、光学图像和光流的理解。最后，我们考虑最近关于视觉感知速率的容量限制和对视觉生态的影响的证据。