Quantification of visual inducement of knots by eye-tracking

Knots have been considered an undesirable visual feature of lumber. To clarify the essence of this visual undesirability, eye-tracking data from 20 subjects, who freely observed 55 images of wood wall panels, were recorded and distribution maps of eye-fixation pauses were composed. These maps were compared with the arrangement of knots on each knotty wall panel image and the visual inducement of knots was evaluated using a new numerical index of pausing probability. The present study is the first to objectively quantify the visual inducement of knots. In addition, the subjective noticeability of knots and ten visual impressions of each wood panel image were investigated by a sensory evaluation. There was a very clear linear relationship between the visual inducement of knots and the subjective noticeability of knots. A correlation analysis suggested that many visual impressions of wood wall panels were influenced by a complementary effect between the subjective noticeability of knots and the visual inducement of knots. The visual impact of knots was masked to some extent by special visual stimuli such as deep red grooves on the wood wall panels.