Computer Vision Systems for the Blind and Visually Disabled.

Download Report

Transcript Computer Vision Systems for the Blind and Visually Disabled.

Vision for the Blind.
Stat 19 SEM 2. 263057202. Talk 1.
Alan Yuille. [email protected]
UCLA. Dept. Statistics and Psychology.
www.stat.ucla/~yuille
Goal of the Course.
• How can technology and neuroscience
help the blind and disabled?
• (A) Artificial Intelligence systems.
• (B) Brain Implants. Neural Prostheses.
• Introduce and review the state of the art.
• Today, an overview.
Course Mechanisms.
• Maximum work load is 3 hours per week.
• Grading: Pass/Fail.
• Requirement. Don’t miss more than 2
lectures.
• Reading assignments. Short reports.
My Research Interests are:
• Designing computer vision systems
(artificial intelligence).
• Understanding how biological vision
systems work.
• I also work with a company that builds
prototype systems for the blind.
• Collaborate with the Smith-Kettlewell Eye
Research Institute (San Francisco).
What is Vision?
• Aristotle “to know what is where by looking”.
• Vision is information processing.
• Light rays that reach your eyes carry information
about the external world.
• Vision decodes the light rays and reconstructs
the world.
• Vision is a very complex task. Harder than
Mathematics? More on vision next lecture.
What would you miss most if you
went blind?
• Probably the ability to detect and read
text.
• Navigation is possible using a cane and/or
guide dog. Recognize people by their
voices. Hear oncoming traffic.
Experiment: Spend an hour with your eyes
closed.
What can blind people see if they
recover their sight?
• Mike May is one of the very few people
who attained his sight after being blind.
• (Successful businessman & skier).
• But how well can he use vision to get
information about the world?
• Infant’s vision systems develop in stages.
Some abilities develop at 1 month, others
at 3 months, etc.
Mike May
• Mike May can see light, but required extensive
•
•
•
•
•
training before he could distinguish a cube from
a sphere.
He cannot recognize faces (even his wife and
children).
It took two years before his vision helped his
skiing.
Handout. Interview with Mike May.
Mike Mays’ Journal:
www.sendergroup.com/mike.htm
Radio Interview. http://psy.ucsd.edu/~fine
How Big is the Problem?
• Legally Blind population of the US is 600900,000. (20/200 best correctly acuity).
• At least, 3,000,000 people have low
vision.
• These numbers are predicted to double in
the next ten years!
• Eyesight gets worse with age – and
people live longer.
Artificial Intelligence Solutions.
• Navigation: Global
Positioning Satelites
(GPS). (Loomis.
UCSB).
Computer Vision
• Digital Camera +
Portable Computer +
Speech Synthesizer.
Brain Implants.
• Artificial Retina:
• Connected to (i) the
•
•
retina, (ii) the optic
nerve, or (iii) the
cortex.
Dr. Dobelle.
Portugal.
Vision to Tactile.
• Dr. Bach y Rita. (Ex: Smith•
•
•
Kettlewell).
1970. Project an image onto
the back of a blind person.
Claim: could recognize
faces.
Few tactile receptors on
back. Better to use
fingertips, lips, or tongue.
Erik Weihenmayer. Climber.
Mt. Everest.
Neural Prostheses:
• Control by Thought.
• Movement Planning
•
Neurons.
Clint Eastwood film.
Firefox.
Summary.
• The course will describe these artificial
•
•
•
•
•
intelligence and biological techniques.
Can describe other topics: e.g. Cochlear
implants.
Mike Mays’s handout. Web journal:
www.sendergroup.com/mike.htm
Radio Interview: http://psy.ucsd.edu/~fine
Contact information: [email protected]