Representation and Control in the Interpretation of Complex Scenes.

Abstract

Abstract : The system being developed, called VISIONS, is an investigation into issues of general computer vision. The goal is to provide an analysis of color images of outdoor scenes, from segmentation through symbolic interpretation. The output of the system is intended to be a symbolic representation of the three-dimensional world depicted in the two-dimensional image, including the naming of objects, their placement in three-dimensional space, and the ability to predict from this representation the rough appearance of the scene from other points of view. The emphasis of the research over the past year has been on three issues critical to furthering our understanding of machine vision. The first area addresses the issue of image segmentation and the failure of recent research to provide robust procedures applicable to complex imagery. The second area focusses on the use of domain knowledge in the interpretation task. The third area focusses on techniques for controlling the use of system resources during interpretation and on ways of resolving conflicting partial interpretations.