Computer Vision and Human Perception: An Essay on the Discovery of Constraints

The s tudy o f v i s i o n , in b o t h man and mach ine , i s v iewed as t h e d i s c o v e r y o f c o n s t r a i n t s . Computa t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t s o f t e n i m p l y assumpt ions neces sa ry f o r a c h i e v i n g a p r o b l e m ' s s o l u t i o n , w h i l e p s y c h o l o g i c a l and n e u r o p h y s i o l o g i c a l ones r e s t r i c t the manner in wh ich such s o l u t i o n s can be a c h i e v e d . These ideas are i l l u s t r a t e d by s e v e r a l examples o f r esea rch r e l a t e d t o the e a r l y p r o c e s s i n g o f v i s u a l i n f o r m a t i o n . The development o f the paper t akes p l a c e h i s t o r i c a l l y , s t a r t i n g w i t h He lmho l t z and Mach, as w e l l as c o m c e p t u a l l y , f rom the c o n c r e t e to the a b s t r a c t , and a n a t o m i c a l l y , f rom the eye to the b r a i n .