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Related Concept Videos

Visual System

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...

Vision

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.

Color Vision

Color Vision

Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.

Parallel Processing

Parallel Processing

The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...

Anatomy of the Eyeball

Anatomy of the Eyeball

The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

A Spiking Artificial Vision Architecture Based on Fully Emulating the Human Vision.

Yi Wu^1,2, Wenjie Deng², Kexin Li²

¹Faculty of Materials and Manufacturing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|February 6, 2024

Summary

This study introduces a novel artificial vision system using self-powered, event-triggered spiking photodetectors and artificial synapses. This bio-inspired design achieves high accuracy in human action recognition with low power consumption.

Keywords:

artificial vision architecture human retina low‐power machine vision spiking photodetector

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Published on: June 13, 2019

Area of Science:

Artificial Intelligence
Neuroscience
Computer Vision

Background:

Intelligent vision systems require continuous, low-power operation, mimicking human vision.
Current artificial vision systems consume significant power due to constant frame processing and complex algorithms.
Biological vision's event-triggered spiking offers superior efficiency and lower energy use.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a novel artificial vision architecture inspired by the human visual system.
To develop self-powered, event-triggered spiking photodetectors and integrated artificial synapses.
To demonstrate an always-on, low-power artificial vision system for image processing tasks.

Main Methods:

Developed self-powered, event-triggered spiking photodetectors that directly output light-modulated spiking signals.
Integrated artificial synapse units to process these spiking signals.
Implemented graphics, gesture, and human action recognition using a rudimentary artificial neural network.

Main Results:

Achieved 90% accuracy in human action recognition within five epochs.
Demonstrated potent image processing capabilities with the novel architecture.
Confirmed the always-on, low-power consumption imperative.

Conclusions:

The proposed architecture, based on spiking photodetectors and artificial synapses, offers a viable alternative to existing artificial vision systems.
This bio-inspired approach significantly reduces power consumption while maintaining high performance.
The system effectively processes visual information, enabling applications like action recognition.