Nader, GeorgesWang, KaiHétroy-Wheeler, FranckDupont, FlorentEitan Grinspun and Bernd Bickel and Yoshinori Dobashi2016-10-112016-10-1120161467-8659https://doi.org/10.1111/cgf.13046https://diglib.eg.org:443/handle/10.1111/cgf13046In this paper, we first introduce an algorithm for estimating the visual contrast on a 3D mesh. We then perform a series of psychophysical experiments to study the effects of contrast sensitivity and contrast discrimination of the human visual system for the task of differentiating between two contrasts on a 3D mesh. The results of these experiments allow us to propose a perceptual model that is able to predict whether a change in local contrast on 3D mesh, induced by a local geometric distortion, is visible or not. Finally, we illustrate the utility of the proposed perceptual model in a number of applications: we compute the Just Noticeable Distortion (JND) profile for smooth-shaded 3D meshes and use the model to guide mesh processing algorithms.10.1111/cgf.13046497-506