Computer Vision

Dr. Syed Faisal Bukhari

Associate Professor
Department of Data Science
Faculty of Computing and Information Technology
University of the Punjab
Textbook

Multiple View Geometry in Computer Vision,

Hartley, R., and Zisserman

Richard Szeliski, Computer Vision: Algorithms and

Applications, 1st edition, 2010

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Reference books
Readings for these lecture notes:
Hartley, R., and Zisserman, A. Multiple View
Geometry in Computer Vision, Cambridge
University Press, 2004, Chapters 1-3.

Forsyth, D., and Ponce, J. Computer Vision: A

Modern Approach, Prentice-Hall, 2003, Chapter 2.

These notes contain material c Hartley and

Zisserman (2004) and Forsyth and Ponce (2003).

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

References
These notes are based
Dr. Matthew N. Dailey's course: AT70.20: Machine Vision
for Robotics and HCI
Prof. Fei Fei Li’s CS131 class at Stanford
Dr. Sohaib Ahmad Khan CS436 / CS5310 Computer Vision
Fundamentals at LUMS
Dr. Nazar Khan, PUCIT
[Link]
ision
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Grading breakup
I. Midterm = 35 points
II. Final term = 40 points
III. Quizzes = 𝟔 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 (A total of 6 quizzes)
IV. Group project = 15 points
a. Pitch your project idea = 2 points
b. Research paper presentation relevant to your
project = 3 points
c. Project prototype and its presentation = 5 points
d. Research paper in IEEE conference template = 5
points
V. OpenCV based on Python presentation = 2.5
points
VI. Matlab presentation = 2.5 points
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Some top tier conferences of
computer vision
I. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference
on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
(CVPR).
II. Proceedings of the European Conference on
Computer Vision (ECCV).
III. Proceedings of the Asian Conference on
Computer Vision (ACCV).
IV. Proceedings of the International Conference on
Robotics and Automation (ICRA).
V. Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International
Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
(IROS).
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Some well known Journals
I. International Journal of Computer Vision (IJCV).
II. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and
Machine Intelligence (PAMI).
III. Image and Vision Computing.
IV. Pattern Recognition.
V. Computer Vision and Image Understanding.
VI. IEEE Transactions on Robotics.
VII. Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

 Vision
Sight is our primary sensation

We perceive about 80% of all impressions by

means of sight

30% of neurons in brain’s cortex are dedicated to

vision, compared to 8% for touch, 2% for hearing

Note: The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of

the human brain, associated with higher brain
function such as thought and action
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
What is (Computer) Vision?

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

 What is Computer Vision?
“The goal of Computer Vision is to make useful
decisions about real physical objects and scenes
based on sensed images”
Symbolic
Decision
Image IN Image OUT Image IN OUT
Image Computer
Processing Vision

Symbolic Image OUT

Info IN Computer
Graphics

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

What is Symbolic Decision?
• Symbolic Decision in Computer Vision refers to
extracting meaningful information from images and
representing them in a structured, symbolic form.

• Converts raw images into high-level representations

• Helps AI recognize, classify, and make decisions

• Enables pattern recognition and feature extraction

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Examples of Symbolic Decisions
1. Object Recognition: Identifies and labels objects
(e.g., detecting a car and tagging it as "Car")

2. Facial Recognition: Detecting human faces and

associating them with identities

3. Autonomous Vehicles: Recognizing a stop sign and

applying brakes

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Examples of Symbolic Decisions
4. Medical Imaging: Detecting anomalies in X-rays
and categorizing them as diseases

5. Scene Understanding: Identifying relationships

between objects in an image

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Process of Symbolic Decision
1. Image Processing: Enhancing image quality and
extracting features
2. Feature Extraction: Identifying edges, textures,
and key points
3. Classification & Recognition: Using AI to recognize
patterns
4. Decision-Making: Converting recognized objects
into symbolic outputs (e.g., 'Stop Sign Detected' →
'Apply Brakes')

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Conclusion
Symbolic decisions bridge the gap between image
perception and actionable insights, allowing AI-
powered systems to make meaningful decisions
based on visual input.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Computer Graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using
computers and the representation of image data by
a computer specifically with help from specialized
graphic hardware and software.

Formally we can say that Computer graphics is

creation, manipulation and storage of geometric
objects (modeling) and their images (Rendering).

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

 What is computer vision?
Machine Neurobiology
Optics Geometry Statistics
Learning

Image
Artificial Processing
Computer Vision
Intelligence

Robotic Virtual Medical Document Many more

Control Surveillance Reality Imaging Analysis …..
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Introduction: Vision systems

The kind of information we want is application

specific:
3D models Object categories
Object poses Camera poses
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Reconstruction of 3D Structure
An Image is a 2-Dimensional projection of 3D
World
3D can be reconstructed from
oTwo images
• Stereo Problem
oVideo with moving camera
• Structure from Motion Problem
oSome understanding about what is being viewed
• Geometrical inference
• Shape from shading or texture

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Stereovision
Stereovision techniques use two cameras to see the
same object.
 The two cameras are separated by a baseline, the
distance for which is assumed to be known
accurately.
 The two cameras simultaneously capture two
images.
 The two images are analyzed to note the
differences between the images. Essentially, one
needs to accurately identify the same pixel in
both images, known as the problem of
correspondence between the two cameras.
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Stereo

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

 Stereo image pair.

3-D reconstructions

L. Alvarez, R. Deriche, J. S´anchez, J. Weickert (2002).

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Rigid Structure from Motion

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

A vision system
“A vision system is something that takes images and output
information of some kind”.

The information that we want could be a ton of different

possible things. We might want to know what is a 3D
structure of a given scene.

Object categories
We might want to know what is the contents of the images
that we are seeing.
oIs it a dog?
oIs it a cat?
oIs it a person?
oIs it my friend?
oIs it my relative?
oEtc.
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
A vision system
 We might also figure out something about parts
of the objects in the scene to build some models of
the objects in the scene based on their parts. A lot
of different things we might want to output from an
image.
3D structure and object categories might be
slightly apparent types of things we might want to
output, but then there are other things, interesting
in certain situations.

For example, camera poses.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Introduction to Camera Position
• What is camera position?

• Why do we need to know the camera position?

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Mathematical Representation
- Camera coordinate system

- Pinhole camera model (including projection)

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Applications of Camera Position
• 3D Reconstruction

• Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR)

• Robotics & Autonomous Navigation

• Computer Graphics & Rendering

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Techniques for Determining Camera
Position
Structure-from-Motion (SfM)

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM)

Camera Calibration & Extrinsic Parameters

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

What is Structure from Motion
(SfM)?
A technique for reconstructing 3D structures from
multiple 2D images.

Estimates both camera motion and 3D scene

structure simultaneously.

Commonly used in photogrammetry, AR/VR, and

robotics.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

What is SLAM?
SLAM enables a system to localize itself while
mapping an unknown environment.

Used in robotics, self-driving cars, drones, and AR/VR

systems.

Works by detecting environmental features and

tracking motion.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

What is Camera Calibration?
• Camera calibration determines the camera's
internal and external parameters.

• Helps correct lens distortion and improve accuracy

in 3D reconstruction.

• Essential for computer vision applications like AR,

robotics, and SLAM.
Real-World Examples

- Object tracking

- Drone-based photogrammetry

- Self-driving cars

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Camera poses [1]
Suppose each image in a sequence is an image of
the same scene. It means for every image in a
sequence.

What we want to know, what was the position of

the camera at each point in time.

If each image in a sequence captures the same

scene, our goal is to determine the camera's position
at each moment in time throughout the sequence.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Camera poses [2]
Why do we want to know the position of the
camera?
Actually, two things:
oTo know the position of the object in the real
world, the things we are looking at (position of
object in the real world).

oBut also, often time you might want to know the

position of the thing that is seeing the object in
the real-world (position of the camera in the real
world).
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Why Determine the Camera’s
Position?
• To accurately determine the position of objects in
the real world.

• To track the motion of the camera itself as it moves

through space.

• Essential for applications like robotics, augmented

reality, and 3D reconstruction.
Camera poses [3]
The camera poses is related to localization, which
means we have a camera moving around in a world.

 Maybe this camera is mounted on a robot and we

want to know where is the robot at each point in time.

 Maybe we are working in indoor, and we don’t have

GPS and so on.

It turns out camera poses can be extracted from a

sequence of images if we add a little bit of extra
information.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Pose Estimation

Author: Nazar Khan (2007)

Find the rotation R and translation t that aligns a

3D object with its 2D image.
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Object poses
For example, if we track people for our specific
application, we might be interested in whether the
person is walking this way and facing this way and
what the person is looking at.

If our application involves tracking people, we may

be particularly interested in determining their
direction of movement, the orientation they are
facing, and what they are looking at.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

What is Camera Pose?
• Defines the position and orientation of a camera in
3D space.

• Essential for 3D reconstruction, AR, robotics, and

computer vision.

• Includes translation (position) and rotation

(orientation).

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Components of Camera Pose
1. Translation (T): Camera's position in 3D space (x,
y, z). It represents position using a 3 × 1 vector

2. Rotation (R):Camera's orientation, defined by

rotation matrices or Euler angles. It represents
orientation using a 3 × 3 matrix

3. Transformation Matrix: Combines rotation &

translation into a 4 × 4 matrix.
𝑅 𝑇 𝑅3×3 𝑇3×1
P= 𝑜𝑟
0 1 𝟎𝑻 1 4×4

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Applications of Camera Poses
Augmented Reality (AR): Aligns virtual objects with real
world.

3D Reconstruction: Builds 3D models from multiple

images.

Robotics & Drones: Helps in navigation and object

recognition.

Autonomous Vehicles: Used in SLAM (Simultaneous

Localization and Mapping).

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Challenges in Camera Pose
Estimation
Motion Blur: Reduces accuracy in moving
environments.

Occlusions: Objects blocking the scene affect results.

Feature Matching Errors: Poor feature detection can

lead to incorrect pose estimation.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Conclusion

• Camera poses define how cameras perceive 3D

space.

• They are crucial in applications like AR, 3D

reconstruction, and robotics.

• Accurate pose estimation enables better visual

understanding and decision-making.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Tracking

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

A vision system
The output of a vision system depends on a
specific application that we have in mind. Still, all
vision systems have this in common taking image as
input and outputting information as output. How
do we do that?

There are variety of different things in order to

create that information. We can’t just analyze the
pixel information directly, but we should have
some source of intelligence.

There is another significant source of information

that we are going to use to perform some of these
tasks is machine learning.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

A vision system
We will incorporate:
oGeometry
oPhysics
oMachine learning
in our vision system in order to transduce images
into information. That’s the goal of this course.

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

The Complexity of Perception

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

 The goal of Computer Vision
To bridge the gap between ‘pixels’ and ‘meaning’

What we see What the computer gets as input

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Introduction: Applications
Important applications include:
oMobile robot navigation
oIndustrial inspection and control
oMilitary intelligence
oSecurity
oHuman-computer interaction
oImage retrieval from digital libraries
oMedical image analysis
o3D model capture for visualization and animation
Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU
Example: Applications

Robotics

Medicine

Security

Transportation

Industrial Automation

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Robotics Application
Localization-determine robot location automatically

Navigation

Obstacles avoidance

Assembly (peg-in-hole, welding, painting)

Manipulation (e.g. PUMA robot manipulator)

Human Robot Interaction (HRI): Intelligent robotics

to interact with and serve people

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Medicine Application

Classification and detection (e.g. lesion or cells

classification and tumor detection)

2D/3D segmentation

3D human organ reconstruction (MRI or

ultrasound)

Vision-guided robotics surgery

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Industrial Automation Application

Industrial inspection (defect detection)

Assembly

Barcode and package label reading

Object sorting

Document understanding (e.g. OCR)

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Security Application

Biometrics (iris, finger print, face recognition)

Surveillance-detecting certain suspicious activities

or behaviors

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Transportation Application

Autonomous vehicle

Safety, e.g., driver vigilance monitoring

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Vision as a measurement device

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Vision as a source of semantic
information

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

The complexity of images

It seems like a hopeless task to be able to write a

program to interpret these images

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

3D Reconstruction from a Single View

Saint Jerome in his study (1630) Joseph [Link] Collection

by Henry V Steinwick (1560-1649)

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Tracking

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU

Action Recognition

Dr. Faisal Bukhari, DDS, PU