Visual object concept discovery: Observations in congenitally blind children, and a computational approach

Over the course of the first few months of life, our brains accomplish a remarkable feat. They are able to interpret complex visual images so that instead of being just disconnected collections of colors and textures, they become meaningful sets of distinct objects. Exactly how this is accomplished is poorly understood. We approach this problem from both experimental and computational perspectives. On the experimental side, we have launched a new humanitarian and scientific initiative in India, called ‘Project Prakash’. This project involves a systematic study of the development of object-perception skills in children following recovery from congenital blindness. Here, we provide an overview of Project Prakash and also describe a specific study related to the development of faceperception skills following sight recovery. Based in part on the results of these experiments, we then develop a computational framework for addressing the problem of object concept discovery. Our model ...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2007
• Where: IJON
• Authors: Jake V. Bouvrie, Pawan Sinha
• Keywords: Complex Visual Images, Congenital Blindness, IJON 2007, Images