While computers outperform humans in many areas, e.g., doing
arithmetic, searching databases, and even playing chess, other
problems remain notoriously difficult. For example, a two-year-old
easily beats a computer at recognizing people and identifying objects
in images. In CS 453 we study the problem of extracting information
from digital images and movies, covering topics such as edge and
motion detection, stereo vision, and object recognition. Along the
way we will discover why such tasks are hard, and gain experience
with analyzing real, noise-contaminated data.
Prerequisites: CS 202, MATH 200
Computer vision is my main area of research. I find it fascinating because image interpretation seems effortless for humans, yet solving these problems by computer is extremely hard. Interestingly, some of the greatest progress has been made by applying mathematical techniques, which can be an eye-opening experience for students.
-- Prof. Scharstein
