Computer Vision (Fall 2023)

Instructor: Professor Zhigang Zhu

The City College of New York

Course No and Section (Code): CSC I6716-1FG (14906) Credits: 3.0
Class Meet Time: Monday 4:50 – 7:20 PM, Room: [In-Person Location: NAC 6/307]  Online Class Meets Noted in Green [Vision Zoom Link]
Office Hours: Every Thursday  2:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Room: Office Zoom Link

Course Update Information

Course Objectives

Computer vision has a rich history of fundamental work on stereo and visual motion, which has dealt with the problems of 3D reconstruction from multiple images, and structure from motion from video sequences. Recently, in addition to these traditional problems, the stereo and motion information presented in multiple images, a video sequence, or stereo and motion with images of expanded fields of view,  is also being used to solve several other interesting problems, for example, large-scale scene modeling, video interaction (including face and gesture interaction), panoramic video mosaicing, omnidirectional vision-based navigation, and video surveillance. This is sometimes summarized as video computing. Computer vision is playing an important and somewhat different role in solving these problems in video computing than the original image analysis approach in the early days of vision research.The course “Computer Vision” will include advanced topics in video computing as well as fundamentals in stereo and motion. 

Course Syllabus and Tentative Schedule (mm/dd)

(Fall 2023 academic calendar)

Part I. Computer Vision Basics 

I-1. Introduction: What, Why and How (pptx slides) –08/28
I-2. Image Formation: Digital Image Basics (pptx slides) (Assignment 1: submissions please send to cv.zhu.ccny@gmail.com)- 09/11  [zoom meeting] [09/04 Labor Day College Closed]
I-3. Image Enhancement: point operations, histograms and neighborhood operations   (slides)  (Assignment 2: submissions please send to cv.zhu.ccny@gmail.com) (Lecture notes in PDF:I-3 and I-4) –09/18 [zoom meeting]
I-4. Edge Detection: basics, advanced, and Hough Transform (slides)– 10/02   [09/25 No Class Scheduled] 

Part II.  3D Computer Vision

II-1.  Camera Models (slides) (recorded video) (lecture notes in PDF) (Assignment 3: submissions please send to cv.zhu.ccny@gmail.com) – 10/10 [zoom meeting] [10/09 College Closed, but 10/10 follows a Monday schedule]
   – (Geometric Projection of a Camera) – (Camera Parameters) – (Camera Models Revisited)

II-2.  Camera Calibration (slides) (recorded video) (lecture notes in PDF )  –10/16  [zoom meeting] 

   – (Problem Definition:  the Tools You Must Know) –  (Direct Approach: Divide and Conquer) –  (Projective Matrix Approach: All in One ) –

II-3.  Stereo Vision (slides including project topic ideas) (lecture notes in PDF) (Assignment 4: submissions please send to cv.zhu.ccny@gmail.com) –10/23  [zoom meeting] [Recorded Video Before the Break with project topic ideas ] [ Gallery View for a Better Zoom Interface ] , 10/30 [recorded video] [in-person]

    – (Problem Definition) &  Project Ideas & Requirements –  (Epipolar Geometry) -(Correspondence Problem & Reconstruction Problem) –

II-4.  Visual Motion – (slides) (lecture notes in PDF)  and Exam Review (slides)  – 11/06 (recorded video)  [zoom meeting] , 11/13 (recorded video) [zoom meeting] (Please submit your project topic, a brief description and teaming information, all in your email body, to cv.zhu.ccny@gmail.com by the end of November 21. This will add up to 4% extra points to your final).

    – (The Motion Field of Rigid Motion) – (Optical Flow Approach & Feature-based Approach) –

Part III.  Advanced Topics and Projects

III-1. Midterm Exam  –11/20 [11/23-11/26 Thanksgiving Holidays College Closed]

III-2. Advanced Topics: Vision in Space and Time (Mosaics and Panoramas – 11/27 [zoom meeting] [recorded lecture – slides][recorded lecture – gallery view] (Attending this will add 2% extra points to your final)
III-3. Project Discussions, Exam Discussions and a Pop Quiz (This will add up to 4% extra points to your final)– 12/04

III-4. Student Group Project Presentations  – 12/11 [zoom meeting] [ Last Day of Class].  Project Reports due 12/17 (Sunday)

Textbook and References

Main Textbook:
   
   In the form of Lecture Notes and Slides, provided by the instructor (above).

Supplements:  

    Online References and additional readings when necessary. 

Grading and Prerequisites

The course will accommodate senior undergraduate students with background in computer science and computer engineering. Students who take the course for credits will be required to finish 4 assignments (40%), one midterm exam (40%), and  one programming project (20%, including (1) give a  presentation to the class; (2) submit a report). The topics of the projects will be given in the middle of the semester and will be related to the material presented in the lectures. Up to 10% extra points if students submit project proposals, participate in a quick pop quiz and attending the lectures to the last one.

Students are required to have a good preparation in both mathematics (linear algebra/numerical analysis) and advanced programming.