Introduction to Computer Vision (CV)

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Introduction to Computer Vision (CV)

AI, But Simple Issue #48

Computer vision (CV) is a highly active field of AI that trains computers to interpret and make use of visual information from data such as images and videos.

It focuses on developing algorithms and models to process visual inputs and perform tasks that mimic human visual perception, like identifying objects, recognizing faces, or understanding an image’s context.

Since 2010, computer vision has risen rapidly in popularity due to its ability to perform many tasks that computers were once thought incapable of. It is widely used across countless industries; here are some common applications:

• In healthcare, computer vision helps diagnose diseases from medical imaging such as X-rays or CT scans.

• Security systems rely on it for facial recognition, fraud detection, and ID verification.

• In the automotive sector, it powers self-driving cars by detecting pedestrians and traffic signs.

• The retail sector uses computer vision for inventory management and automated checkout.

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Timeline

Computer vision has evolved a lot during its research, spanning over six decades. Here’s a quick timeline:

In 1959, researchers began exploring image processing by studying brain responses to visual stimuli, discovering that vision is hierarchical: it starts with simple shapes like edges and then progresses to create more detailed patterns.