You would casually mention things like grass, benches, trees, etc. if asked to name specific things you find in a park. This is a straightforward task that anyone can do in the blink of an eye. However, a highly complex process takes place in the back of our minds. The human vision includes our eyes, but it also consists of our abstract understanding of concepts and personal experiences through the millions of interactions we've had with the outside world. Until recently, computers had minimal ability to think for themselves. Computer vision is the latest branch of technology that focuses on replicating this human vision to help computers identify and process things as humans do.
What is Computer Vision?
Artificial intelligence (AIfield )'s of computer vision enables computers and systems to extract useful information from digital photos, videos, and other visual input—and to act or offer suggestions in response to that information. Computer vision provides machines the capability to perceive, observe, and understand, much like artificial intelligence provides them the ability to think.
The same principles underlie both human and computer vision, although humans have an advantage. In order to learn how to discern between things, gauge their distance from the viewer, judge whether they are moving, and assess whether a picture is inaccurate, human vision benefits from a lifetime of context.
Instead of employing retinas, optic nerves, and the visual brain, computer vision trains machines to carry out similar tasks faster using cameras, data, and algorithms. A system that is trained to inspect items or track industrial assets can swiftly outperform human capabilities since it can examine thousands of products or processes per minute and find imperceptible flaws or faults.
Computer vision aims to artificially imitate the human eye by enabling computers to perceive visual stimuli in a meaningful way. That is why it is also called machine perception, or machine vision. While the problem of "vision" is trivially solved by humans (even children), computational vision remains one of the most challenging areas of computer science, mainly due to the enormous complexity of the changing physical world.
Real-Time Computer Vision in Manufacturing Using the YOLOv7 Algorithm – Viso Suite Human vision is based on lifelong learning with context that trains how to identify specific objects or recognize human faces or individuals in visual scenes. Thus, modern artificial vision technology uses machine learning and deep learning methods to train machines to recognize things, looks, or people in visual scenes. As a result, computer vision systems use image processing algorithms that allow computers to locate, classify, and analyze objects and their surroundings from data provided by a camera.
How Does Computer Vision Work?
Large grids of pixels are frequently used to store images on computers. Each pixel is given a color definition and is stored as a mixture of the RGB primary colors (Red, Green, Blue). To depict distinct hues, these are blended in varying intensities. In pixels, colors are kept.
Let's have a look at a simple algorithm for tracking an orange soccer ball on a playing field. We accomplish this by using the RGB value of the center pixel. Using this recorded value, we can feed the computer program an image and instruct it to locate the pixel with the closest color match. The algorithm checks each pixel at a time and calculates the difference from the target color. If you look at each pixel, the best match is probably the pixel from the orange ball. We can run this algorithm for each video frame and track the ball over time. But the algorithm can get confused if one of the teams is wearing an orange jersey. Thus, this approach does not work for features more significant than one pixel, such as the edges of objects that consist of many pixels.
Computer vision algorithms must take into account these tiny, or patch, sections of pixels in order to recognize them in images. An algorithm that identifies vertical edges in an image, for instance, may guide a drone safely through a maze of obstacles.
Previously, an algorithm called Viola-Jones Face Detection was used, which combined several kernels to detect facial features. Today, the latest and trending algorithms on the block are convolutional neural networks (CNNs).
Advantages of Computer Vision
Numerous tasks can be automated by computer vision without the involvement of a human. As a result, it offers businesses various advantages:-
Faster and simpler process: Computer vision systems can perform repetitive and monotonous tasks faster, making people's jobs easier.
Better products and services: Computer vision systems trained very well will make zero errors. The result will be faster delivery of high-quality products and services.
Cost reduction: Companies don't have to spend money fixing faulty processes because computer vision leaves no room for defective products and services.
Disadvantages of Computer Vision
There is no technology without flaws, which is true for computer vision systems. Here are some limitations of computer vision:-
Lack of specialists: Companies need a team of highly trained professionals with deep knowledge of the differences between AI vs. Machine Learning and Deep Learning to prepare computer vision systems. More specialists are needed who can help shape this future of technology.
Need for regular monitoring: If a computer vision system faces a technical glitch or breaks down, it can cause immense losses to companies. Companies, therefore, need to have a dedicated team on board to monitor and evaluate these systems.
Applications of AI in Computer Vision
Object recognition
This branch of computer vision Artificial Intelligence deals with detecting one or more things in an image or video. For example, surveillance cameras intelligently recognize people and their activities (no movement, something like firearms or knives, etc.) so that suspicious activity is flagged.
Image segmentation
Using computer vision at the pixel level, image segmentation can tell what is in a given image. It differentiates from object detection, which locates objects inside an image by drawing a bounding box around them, and image recognition, which labels a complete image with one or more labels. Finer information about the content of the image is provided by image segmentation.
Categorizing images
Image classification is categorizing an image based on its surrounding visual content. The procedure involves focusing on the relationships between neighboring pixels. A database with predetermined patterns forms a classification system.
To classify the recognized object, these patterns are contrasted with the object. Image classification benefits from vehicle navigation, biometrics, video surveillance, biomedical imaging, and other fields.
Augmentation in real-time
Augmented reality applications rely heavily on computer vision. This technology allows AR applications to detect physical things in real-time (both surfaces and individual objects within a physical location) and use this data to place virtual objects in the physical environment.
Facial recognition
Facial recognition technology aims to recognize an object or a human face in a photo. Due to the diversity of human faces – expression, posture, skin color, camera quality, position or orientation, image resolution, etc. – and it is one of the most complex applications of computer vision.
However, this approach is widely used. Used to authenticate users on smartphones. Facebook uses the same method when suggesting tags for people in a photo.
Recognize patterns and recognize edges
The ability of a system to discover patterns in attributes or data is known as pattern recognition. A way can be a repeating data sequence or a set of data that has been added to the system.
Finding the edges of objects in an image is what edge detection is all about. Sensing brightness discontinuities allows for this. Edge detection can be very useful in data extraction and image segmentation.
Conclusion
Computer vision is a disruptive technology with many exciting applications. This cutting-edge solution uses the data we generate daily to help computers 'see' our world and provide us with actionable insights to help improve our overall quality of life. Computer vision is expected to unlock the potential of many new and exciting technologies to help us lead safer, healthier, and happier lives.
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