Excerpts from book:

The field of machine perception concerns the building of machines that sense and interpret their environments. This book is about visual perception. Potential applications for such systems include tasks such as automation of industrial processes of inspection and assembly, automated medical x-ray diagnosis, vehicle guidance and automatic photo-interpretation. Beginning from the analysis of simple polyhedral scenes in the early 1960s, the field has progressed to the point where useful analysis of complex natural and industrial scenes is possible and many practical prototype and commercial systems are available. Because of its immense potential applications, interest in this field has been growing rapidly.

This book assumes no previous knowledge of the field and aims to provide a comprehensive knowledge of its methods. It is intended for use as a text for a one-semester graduate or senior-level course and also as a guide for the practicing professional.