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I have thought it necessary to compile an essay on my ideas regarding machine vision, specifically the ordering of pixel data into useful collections for consideration. First, some definitions:
Pixel: Any one of a number of points in a digital image that contains color information for that specific point.
Pixel collection: A collection of pixels of same or similar color. Not all pixels of a certain color are necessarily in the same collection, for each pixel in the collection must be directly next to at least one other pixel in the group.
Object: A group of pixel collections formed by analysis of the spatial movements of each collection over time.
Frame: A single image in a series of related images.
Pixel sorting: The process of sorting pixels into collections, or of sorting collections into objects.
Instant level: Pixel sorting that takes place at the single frame basis. Only information contained in the current frame is considered. This is where pixel collections are formed.
Recursive level: Pixel sorting that takes place over several frames. Information from all previous frames is figured into the sorting of pixel collections into objects.
The system which I propose for the organization of pixels into meaningful collections of data would happen on two co-mingling levels. The first level, the instant level, would occur at each new frame. At each frame, pixels are arranged into collections based on same or similar colors and proximity. Over time, the second level, the recursive level, will arrange these collections into objects based upon similar patterns of movement.
It is of course difficult to elaborate on this possible system without first experimenting with its basics, that is, without trying it out. I do have certain qualms with this system, namely its likely resource intensiveness. This difficulty is likely to arise by attempting to manage large numbers of pixels at the instant level while simultaneously managing whole collections at the recursive level. I also have great difficulty imagining how exactly the recursive level will track individual pixels across pixel collections over time.
I intend to follow this essay with an essay on “sensual data discrimination”, that is, how it is that we can decide to focus on particular pieces of data while ignoring others.
