A Gentle Introduction to Computer Vision
Computer vision is the field of computer science that focuses on creating digital systems that can process, analyze, and make sense of visual data (images or videos) in the same way that humans do. Here are a few common tasks that computer vision systems can be used for:
- Object classification
- Object identification
- Object tracking
Computer vision algorithms that we use today are based on pattern recognition. We train computers on a massive amount of visual data—computers process images, label objects on them, and find patterns in those objects.
Where we can apply computer vision
Facial recognition
Facial recognition technology is used to match photos of people’s faces to their identities. This technology is integrated into major products that we use every day.
Augmented reality
This technology helps AR apps to detect physical objects in real-time and use this information to place virtual objects within the physical environment.
Self-driving cars
Computer vision enables cars to make sense of their surroundings. A smart vehicle has a few cameras to capture videos from different angles and send videos as an input signal to the computer vision software.
