Course Overview
How does the human visual system derive rich information about the three-dimensional world from the continually changing two-dimensional images that enter the eyes? How can we replicate this capability in computer vision systems? CS332 explores models for analyzing digital images to infer information such as the three-dimensional structure, movement, and color of objects in a scene, and to recognize the objects being viewed. You will see how an interdisciplinary approach to the study of vision, which combines insights from computer science, neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology, contributes to the design of effective computer vision systems and the understanding of human visual processing. Specific topics include edge detection, stereopsis, motion analysis, color, face recognition, object recognition, and image processing applications in areas such as medicine, security, information retrieval, robotics, and intelligent vehicles. The course uses vision software written in MATLAB.
Prerequisites: CS112 or CS230 or permission of instructor. No prior
experience with MATLAB is needed.
Distribution Credit: Mathematical Modeling
Units: 1.0
Learning Goals
The aims of this course are to enable students to:
- understand, design, apply, and critically evaluate computational methods for deriving important information about the world from digital images
- draw connections between observations from empirical studies of visual processing in biological systems and the behavior of computational models of vision
- communicate, orally and in writing, technical content related to human and computer vision
- assess the benefits to society, of applications of computer vision systems in areas such as medicine, security, and assistive technologies
Reading
There is no required textbook for this course. Notes, book excerpts, and journal articles will be distributed throughout the semester. Some useful background material will be drawn from the book, Vision Science: Photons to Phenomenology, by Stephen Palmer.
Course Evaluation
There will be about 7 homework assignments that each require a combination of computer work and written analysis or reflection. Assignments will primarily use vision software written in MATLAB that can be run on Macs and PCs.
There will be two in-class exams on the following dates:
Exam 1: Thursday, October 18
Exam 2: Thursday, November 15
These exams will be open book/open notes. There will be no final exam.
There will be a final project that involves the independent exploration of a vision topic that is of interest to you. Topics can be explored through current literature that may include journal articles, excerpts from books, or online papers, and can include an implementation or computer simulations with a vision model, or a perceptual experiment. Some possible areas of exploration are listed on the final project webpage. You are welcome to work with a partner on the final project; the scope of the project should be broader in this case. During the last week of the semester, students will give an 8-10 minute presentation of their final project work. A final paper on this work is due by the end of final exam period, on Thursday, December 20.
Your final grade will be based on the following components of your work: assignments (45%), the two exams (20% each), the final project (10%), and class participation (5%). Students are expected to attend all classes and to participate in class discussions and computer activities. All submitted work counts toward the final grade.
Observance of Religious Holidays
Please let me know if you anticipate an absence or need accommodations for observance of religious holidays. ITS recently developed an online Religious Observance Notification Form that you can use to inform me of this need.
Late Assignment Policy
All assignments are due in class on the advertised due date, which will
usually be a Thursday (exceptions are the assignments due during the two weeks of the exams).
An assignment due on a particular day will be accepted
until
Collaboration Policy
You are encouraged to discuss assignments with other students and to exchange ideas about how to solve problems. You are also welcome to work with a partner on coding and simulation tasks. When you do assignment-related computer work during class, you will be encouraged to work in pairs, and this class work can be shared between you and your partner. However, unless stated otherwise, I ask that you compose your own written summary or analysis of your computer work. For problems requiring only a written analysis or solution, you can discuss strategies for solving the problems with classmates, but should write out the details of the problem solution on your own, and in your own words. It is unacceptable and consititutes a violation of the Honor Code (1) to compose a written summary of computer work or problem solutions together with someone else and turn in two copies of the same work, (2) to copy another student's written work, or (3) view solutions from previous terms of CS332.
In keeping with the standards of the scientific community, you must give credit where credit is due. If you make use of an idea that was developed by (or jointly with) others, please reference them appropriately in your work. It is unacceptable for students to work together and not acknowledge each other in their write-ups. If you have questions about this policy, please talk to me.
Course Directory and Student Accounts on the CS File Server
Course materials will be available on the CS file server, in the
directory /home/cs332. Software to be downloaded will be placed in the
subdirectory /home/cs332/download. Course webpages are stored in
/home/cs332/public_html and available from a web browser at the
following site: http://cs.wellesley.edu/~cs332/
Each student will have an individual account on the CS file server. If you have taken other computer science courses at Wellesley, you probably already have an account. If not, please submit the Server Account Request form to obtain a new account. You can also use this form to change your password. This form is only accessible from the campus network.
Course Software
All of the CS332 course software is written in MATLAB. At Wellesley, MATLAB 8 (version R2017a) is available on all public computers, including Macs and PCs, and can also be installed on your personal Mac or PC for use on the campus network. Your personal copy of MATLAB can be used off-campus by installing software for the SSL VPN on your Mac or PC. For more information about these options, see the Wellesley Technology Support webpage, or the CS332 documentation page. The MATLAB software is key-served, so there are a limited number of copies that can be used at one time. Please exit MATLAB when you are done using it! A student version of MATLAB can be purchased at the Mathworks website for $99.
Specific course software can be downloaded and uploaded to and from personal computers using Cyberduck, Fetch (for Macs), or WinSCP (for PCs).
Google Group
A Google Group has been created, CS-332-01-FA18, and students enrolled in this class have been added as members. If you did not receive a confirmation e-mail, please let me know so that I can add you. You can send e-mail to this group at the address CS-332-01-FA18@wellesley.edu. I will post important announcements here about assignments, changes to office hours, and CS department events such as seminars and parties. I encourage you to post questions or comments related to course material or activities, or other topics of interest to students in the class. Feel free to respond to questions posted by other students. Please do not post MATLAB code here — homework discussions should be at a high-level English description.
Disabilities and Accommodations
If you have a disability or condition, either long-term or temporary, and need reasonable academic adjustments in this course, please contact Disability Services to get a letter outlining your need for accommodations, and submit that letter to me. You should request accommodations as early as possible in the semester, or before the semester begins, as some situations may require significant time for review and accommodation design. If you need immediate accommodations, please arrange to meet with me as soon as possible. If you are unsure but suspect you have an undocumented need for accommodations, you are encouraged to contact Disability Services. They can provide assistance including screening and referral for assessments. Disability Services can be reached at disabilityservices@wellesley.edu, at 781-283-2434, by scheduling an appointment online at their website www.wellesley.edu/disability, or by visiting their offices on the 3rd floor of Clapp Library, rooms 316 and 315.
Faculty Responsibilities on Disclosures of Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct
Pursuant to Wellesley College policy, all employees, including faculty, are considered responsible employees. This means that any disclosure of discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct to a faculty member will need to be shared with the College's Director of Non-Discrimination Initiatives / Title IX and ADA / Section 504 Coordinator, Sonia Jurado (781-283-2451; sjurado@wellesley.edu). Students who do not wish to have these issues disclosed to the College should speak with confidential resources who are the only offices at the College that do not have this same reporting obligation. On campus, confidential resources include Health Services (781-283-2810, available 24/7), the Stone Center Counseling Services (781-283-2839, available 24/7) and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (781-283-2685). You should assume that any person employed on campus outside of these three confidential offices has an obligation to share information with Wellesley College through the Office of Non-Discrimination Initiatives.