Can visual fixation patterns improve image fidelity assessment?

This paper presents the results of a computational experiment designed to investigate the extent to which metrics of image fidelity can be improved through knowledge of where humans tend to fixate in images. Five common metrics of image fidelity were augmented using two sets of fixation data, one set obtained under task-free viewing conditions and another set obtained when viewers were asked to judge image quality. The augmented metrics were then compared to subjective ratings of the images. The results show that most metrics can be improved using eye fixation data, but a greater improvement was found using fixations obtained in the task-free condition (task-free viewing).