CS 365: Computer Vision

Course Description

Investigates designing computer programs that extract information from digital images. Major topics include image formation and acquisition, gray-scale and color image processing, image filters, feature detection, texture, object segmentation, classification, recognition, and motion estimation. Students are introduced to classic and contemporary vision techniques with examples for homework and programming assignments drawn from biological and medical imaging, robotics, augmented reality, and digital photography. Students will develop small and medium-scale vision systems to solve practical problems and possibly assist in active research projects at Colby.

Course Goals

1. Students understand the fundamentals of image formation and image acquisition, including image calibration.
2. Students understand and can implement image processing algorithms such as filtering, morphological operations, connected components, and feature detection.
3. Students can discuss and implement algorithms for segmentation, detection, classification, and tracking.
4. Students work in a group to design and develop a medium-sized image analysis and computer vision application.
5. Students present algorithms and results in an organized and competent manner, both written and orally.

Textbooks

There are no great computer vision textbooks. There are good computer vision textbooks that are somewhat old (Stockman and Shapiro, or Sonka and Hlavac). There is a new CV text by E. R. Davies that is pretty good. There is a reasonable computer vision text that is free in electronic form (Szeliski). There are also a number of reference style texts, mostly covering the software OpenCV and its various language APIs. You can access a decent OpenCV reference in the Colby Library Safari Online service. I would recommend downloading the Szeliski Book and using the OpenCV reference to get both the theoretical and practical side of computer vision.

Useful Links

• Maxwell's Lecture Notes
• OpenCV: computer vision SDK.
• CVOnline: computer vision resources.
• Computer Vision Foundation: computer vision papers and community news.
• Computer Vision Papers: more CV papers.
• Colby library OpenCV book (accessible if you are on the Colby network)