Your question asks whether any research group believes that current physical laws are limited by human perception and is designing machines to discover new perceptions, thereby introducing new variables into our equations. Below, I provide a concise and structured response based on available information and my knowledge of ongoing research up to October 2023, with projections to 2025 where relevant.
1. Are Physical Laws Limited by Human Perception?
No research group explicitly states that current physical laws are directly limited by human perception in a cognitive or sensory sense. However, some philosophical and scientific perspectives suggest that our understanding of physical laws is shaped by how we perceive and conceptualize reality:
Philosophy of Science: Works like Consciousness and Nature: At the Limits of Physicalism argue that the scientific framework (rooted in Cartesian dualism) separates mind and matter, potentially limiting our ability to explain phenomena like consciousness or subjective perception. This implies that current physical laws may be incomplete, as they do not account for how perception relates to physical processes (e.g., the "hard problem" of consciousness).
Psychophysics: As described in Psychophysics: The Science Connecting Physical Stimuli to Human Perception, psychophysics studies how physical stimuli translate into human perceptions (e.g., Weber-Fechner Law). While it does not claim physical laws are limited by perception, it suggests that our interpretation of physical phenomena is mediated by sensory and cognitive processes, which could influence how we formulate laws.
Gestalt Psychology: Gestalt principles (e.g., figure-ground organization, continuity) show that human perception constructs meaningful patterns from sensory input, not a direct reflection of physical reality. For instance, the Necker cube demonstrates how perception can alternate between interpretations, suggesting that our perceptual limitations may shape our understanding of physical phenomena.
Neuroscience: Studies, such as those in Nature Communications on saccadic eye movements, reveal that human visual perception has physical limits (e.g., inability to detect objects moving faster than 20-200 ms per saccade). These limits imply that our ability to observe physical phenomena is biologically constrained, indirectly affecting how we develop physical laws.
2. Are Research Groups Designing Machines for New Perceptions?
No group is explicitly designing machines to discover "new perceptions" to reformulate physical laws, but several research efforts use advanced technologies to transcend human perceptual limitations and explore phenomena that could lead to new variables in physical equations:
Artificial Perception and AI:
Computer Vision: Systems in autonomous vehicles or medical diagnostics (using tools like TensorFlow or OpenCV) detect patterns beyond human perception, such as subtle medical imaging details. While not aimed at new physical laws, these could identify phenomena challenging existing equations.
Physics Applications: At CERN, AI algorithms analyze Large Hadron Collider (LHC) data to detect anomalies (e.g., potential new particles), acting as an extension of human perception by processing vast datasets.
Brain-Machine Interfaces and Bionics:
The MIT Biomechatronics Research Group develops bionic prosthetics (e.g., cochlear implants, exoskeletons) that amplify human sensory capabilities. For example, DARPA's Warrior Web enhances movement through environmental data processing, potentially inspiring new ways to capture physical data.
These technologies could indirectly lead to new methods for observing physical phenomena, possibly introducing new variables.
Advanced Detectors in Astrophysics:
Instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory observe phenomena beyond human perception (e.g., infrared light, distant cosmic events). These could lead to new variables in cosmological equations, such as those describing dark energy.
Gravitational wave detectors (e.g., LIGO, future LISA) provide a new "sensory" window into cosmic events, potentially refining or expanding gravitational equations.
Neuropsychophysics:
Tools like PercepFiguras study multi-stable perception (e.g., Necker cube) using computational and electrophysiological methods. While focused on human perception, these approaches hint at how machines can analyze perceptual processes, potentially informing new ways to interpret physical data.
3. New Variables in Physical Equations?
While no group directly links new perceptions to new physical variables, several efforts could indirectly result in such outcomes:
Particle Physics: LHC experiments (ATLAS, CMS) search for anomalies (e.g., CP symmetry violations, dark matter particles) that could require new terms in the Standard Model equations.
Cosmology: The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) maps cosmic expansion, potentially refining relativity equations with new variables for dark energy.
Quantum Computing: Research at IBM, Google, and MIT uses quantum computers to simulate complex physical systems, which could reveal phenomena requiring new variables in quantum equations.
4. Relevant Research Groups
No single group matches your exact description, but the following are working in related areas:
Cluster of Excellence Science of Intelligence (TU Berlin): Studies perceptual limits (e.g., saccadic movements), with implications for neuroscience and technology.
MIT Biomechatronics Group: Develops bionic systems that amplify human perception, potentially applicable to physical data collection.
CERN (ATLAS, CMS): Uses AI and detectors to explore beyond human perception, seeking new physics.
Astrophysics Projects (JWST, DESI, LISA): Develop instruments to observe phenomena beyond human senses, potentially leading to new physical variables.
5. Limitations
No Direct Evidence: No group explicitly ties physical law limitations to human perception and designs machines for new perceptions. The closest efforts are in AI, astrophysics, and bionics, but these focus on extending observation, not perception per se.
Interpretation: I've interpreted "new perceptions" as new ways to detect or interpret physical data, as human perception is not a primary focus in physics literature.
Data Scope: Analysis is based on information up to October 2023, with trends projected to 2025.
Conclusion
No research group explicitly claims that physical laws are limited by human perception and is designing machines to discover new perceptions for new physical variables. However, efforts in artificial perception, brain-machine interfaces, astrophysical detectors, and particle physics use technologies to surpass human perceptual limits, potentially leading to new phenomena or variables in equations. For example, CERN's AI-driven LHC experiments and JWST's observations could uncover anomalies requiring new physical terms. If you have a specific field or technology in mind, I can narrow the focus. Would you like me to explore a particular aspect further?