Can human sub-conscious vision help computers “see”?
Thursday 21 January 2010
The University of Surrey and Waterfall Solutions Ltd have recently been awarded funding to apply computer models of human vision to commercial systems to help them to “see”.
The Biologically-inspired Modelling and Applications (BIMA) research group in the Department of Computing at Surrey have developed models of human sub-conscious vision. This sub-conscious processing allows us to recognise threats and react to them rapidly, such as readying our bodies to run when we see a “snake in the grass”, even before we consciously recognise what the threat is. The models developed by BIMA are capable of learning to combine different sensory signals, such as video and sound, and responding differently to particular stimuli.
Waterfall Solutions Ltd is a company that specialises in developing reliable, real-time data and image processing solutions for the defence and commercial sectors. Examples of their work include hardware systems that can fuse different camera feeds to enhance images and detect anomalies.
This project builds upon the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the University and Waterfall Solutions in September 2009, which formalised the desire to build a strong collaboration. This collaboration is further supported by the appointment of Dr Duncan Hickman, Chief Engineer of Waterfall Solutions, as a Visiting Reader with the University. “We warmly welcome this opportunity for closer collaboration between ourselves and the University, and look forward to Duncan bringing his considerable skills and experience to this important role” said Dr Moira Smith, Managing Director of Waterfall Solutions.
The project award was made from the University’s recently secured Knowledge Transfer Account (KTA), funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The KTA is a three year project worth £3.85m awarded to the University and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), which is designed to create transformational benefits for the UK economy and society by providing support for research to be exploited in industry.
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