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1.1 What is computer vision?

As humans, we perceive the three-dimensional structure of the world around us with apparent
case. Think of how vivid the three-dimensional percept is when you look at a vase of flowers
sitting on the table next to you, You can tll the shape and translucency of each petal through
the subtle patterns of light and shading that play across its surface and effortlessly segment
each flower from the background of the scene (Figure 1.1). Looking at a framed group por-
trait, you can easily count (and name) all of the people in the picture and even guess at their
‘emotions from their facial appearance. Perceptual psychologists have spent decades trying to
understand how the visual system works and, even though they can devise optical illusions!
to tease apart some of its principles (Figure 1.3), a complete solution to this puzzle remains
elusive (Marr 1982; Palmer 1999; Livingstone 2008).