The Human Eyes as a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Devices.)

The Human Eyes as a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Devices.)

1.1a This treatise does not document the principles of RAID, as that is covered in detail in many works of reference, including Wikipedia. The author describes how two eyes can work together to produce a composite 2D image in the Mind’s Eye (ME), incorporating a back-up system akin to RAID.

1.1b For the purposes of this treatise, the back-up system used by the eyes has been termed pseudo-RAID, PRAID.

1.1c Little reference will be made to the detailed structure of the physical eye and any component parts thereof. This caveat also applies to the functioning of the Mind's Eye, and it's basic analogue performance.

1.1c For want of better alternatives, the terms Autonomous and Autonomy, are within the remit of this treatise, used to describe 'persistence of vision' afforded by both physical eyes. 100% autonomy defines the availability of a service that is continuous, ad infinitum. Which of course is impossible!

1.2 Having only two light-receiving devices, the left and right eyes, the 180-degree ME virtual field-of-vision is shared between the two. By simply covering each eye with the appropriate hand, it is easy for the reader of this treatise to determine what their field-of-vision appears like for each eye. When testing each eye, it is important that BOTH eyes are wide open and free to move. With the author's rather pronounced nose, and ‘inset’ eyes, the left-hand (LH) virtual field-of-vision starts at the LH side of the nose and ends roughly 90 degrees to the left, whilst the right-hand (RH) virtual field-of-vision, extends from the RH side of the nose to about 90 degrees to the right. Performance of these simple tests will reveal the area of the virtual ME field-of-vision that is shared by both eyes.

2.1 [This shared area of the Mind's Eye, labelled SHARED, is an extremely important concept with regard to the content of this treatise. The centre of the ME's virtual field-of-vision coincides with the centre of the shared physical field-of-vision of both eyes.]

3.1 Both eyes normally work in unison – so that this shared part of the virtual ME image is formed by both eyes together, to give PRAID autonomy. In other words, should one eye fail the remaining eye can take over.

4.1 [With RAID 0, two device autonomy (one duty and one standby), each of the devices must be identical and the switch-over time when the duty device fails must be designed to have a switch-over time minimum. Obviously, with a two device system there is ALWAYS going to be a time-lag between the failure of the duty device and the resumption of service by the stand-by device. For critical processes, the loss-of-service time for instance of a human eye, must be an absolute minimum.]

5.1 It is important to appreciate that with both eyes open the ME 180-degree field-of-vision consists of the fusion of the three parts LH, SHARED, RH.

6.1 [Because the eyes are programmed for RAID 0 and act in parallel, this raises a number of problems. Firstly, never are the two eyes exactly the same in size and other properties that affect the image passing to the ME. Secondly, even if each eye was a clone, the separation between the eyes would produce differing perspectives and images at the ME. This difference has a large effect over a short distance to a close object and has a small difference for a distant one. Nevertheless there will always be a difference.]

7.1 The author of this paper has discernable differences between the two eyes, so that there is an appreciable difference between the images of objects observed by each physical eye. An image arriving at the ME from the right eye appears larger than that from the left eye. If the reader carries out the tests above, they should try and determine the obvious differences between the images from each eye, of the same object at about 20cm from the eyes. Also, compare those to the image with both eyes open.

8.1 [Because of the difference between the two eyes one of them produces a larger image of an object than the other, and consequently an image with lower brilliance and contrast. The eye with the highest brilliance and contrast 'takes control' of the image within the SHARED - AND- also its own field-of-vision. This is referred to in prior art as the Dominant eye, and acts as the duty device, whilst in this paper the non-dominant eye will be referred to as the Sub-Dominant eye and is the back-up device.]

9.1 With a dominant left eye, and a sub-dominant right eye, when viewing an object with both eyes open, the image received by the ME is made up of two sections, the LH + SHARED vision of the left dominant eye AND the RH vision from the sub-dominant right eye.

This means that whether both eyes are open or just the dominant left eye, the SHARED image of the field-of-vision will be that of the dominant left eye.

The brain ‘over-writes’ the SHARED ME field-of-vision from the "weaker" sub-dominant right eye when both eyes are open. This is generally understood in prior art and summarised in Figure 1.

10.1 [It is important to remember that with both eyes open, even though most of the field-of-vision of the ME consists of the  Dominant and SHARED areas, the Sub-dominant eye is still active 'in tandem' with the Dominant one. Hence, as indicated on the bottom illustration of Diagram 1, the red section is produced by the Sub-dominant eye. There is therefore an 'interface' between the SHARED area and the remaining Sub-dominant area. Note that this interface will be within the peripheral vision of the eye.]

11.1 The reader of this paper may carry out the simple tests outlined above and discover for themselves which are their dominant and sub-dominant eyes. Whilst experimenting with the three areas of the ME field-of-vision, investigate where, roughly, the LH/SHARED and RH/SHARED, interfaces occur.

12.1  [It is possible, with the correct technique, for the SHARED area of the ME field of vision to display both the LH and RH images of the same object, i.e. seeing-double.

With, for instance the thumb 20cm from the nose, in well lit conditions, cover the Dominant eye. Focus on the thumb with the Sub-dominant eye, and uncover the Dominant eye. It should then be possible, by deliberately 'crossing the eyes', to observe both the LH AND the RH images together in the SHARED area of the ME. The two images of the thumb now appear because the crossing of the eyes has temporarily 'uncoupled' the RAID link between them. As discussed briefly in section 6.1, there is a noticeable difference between the two images, and the closer the thumb is moved towards the eyes, the bigger becomes the distance of separation of the two.

If the thumb is moved away from the eyes the double images will converge and only the dominant (in the case of Diagram 1 the LH) will remain. When the thumb is moved away from the eyes (at about 40 cm for the author) the eyes become 'uncrossed', and the RAID link is resumed.

The reader may like to try making an ME image consisting of four nearly identical pencils from two identical ones.

13.1 The positive attributes of the human eye RAID system.

13.1a As discussed in sections 4.1 and 12.1, the LH and RH images within the SHARED ME  field-of-view are not 100% replications, but close to it.

13.1b The switch-over time from duty to standby is minimized by the fact that both devices are running simultaneously.

13.2 The negative attributes of the human eye RAID system.

13.2a The system described above is not actually running as a duty-with-standby system, but more of a shared-duty one. The duty device, the Dominant Eye, is as it were working at maximum capability, whilst the Sub-dominant Eye is 'idling' in the background dealing with the peripheral vision of the Sub-dominant Eye only.

© Sanclare Infosys 2012