ABSTRACT
There is little doubt that one of the most stimulating research fields, from both the scientific and technological perspectives, are those related to the main human sense: vision. The acquisition and analysis of the visual information produced by the interaction between light and the world objects have represented powerful means through which humans and animals can quickly and efficiently learn about their surrounding environments. The advantages of this ability for survival can be immediately recognized, accounting for all efforts nature has taken in developing such flexible visual systems. As far as humans are concerned, more than 50% of their brains are somehow involved in visual information analysis, a task that underlies the majority of human daily activities. In fact, it is hard to identify which of these activities do not involve, either directly or indirectly, vision. Therefore, whenever necessary to automate (e.g., in case of dangerous or tedious situations) or to improve (e.g., to increase precision and repetition) human activities, effective computer vision systems become essential.
