Probabilistic Models of Perception

1 Course Unit

How does vision work? What computations should be performed on images to support visual tasks? What computations do biological and engineered vision systems actually use? This course will provide an in-depth treatment of several topics in vision with implications for both biological and human-engineered systems. We will develop an understanding of select visual abilities in humans and in other creatures from around the animal kingdom (praying mantises, cuttlefish, etc.) and we will show how computational solutions that emerge from the study of biological systems can improve performance in engineered systems like smartphone cameras. The course will provide an introduction to useful tools like signal detection theory, dimensionality reduction, and optimal estimation theory and show how these tools are applied to the covered topics. Some programming experience is desirable. 1 Course Unit