Visual Perception (Coursera)

Offered by Columbia University,
Visual Perception (Coursera)

The ultimate goal of a computer vision system is to generate a detailed symbolic description of each image shown. This course focuses on the all-important problem of perception. We first describe the problem of tracking objects in complex scenes. We look at two key challenges in this context. The first is the separation of an image into object and background using a technique called change detection.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

The second is the tracking of one or more objects in a video. Next, we examine the problem of segmenting an image into meaningful regions. In particular, we take a bottom-up approach where pixels with similar attributes are grouped together to obtain a region.
Finally, we tackle the problem of object recognition. We describe two approaches to the problem. The first directly recognize an object and its pose using the appearance of the object. This method is based on the concept of dimension reduction, which is achieved using principal component analysis. The second approach is to use a neural network to solve the recognition problem as one of learning a mapping from the input (image) to the output (object class, object identity, activity, etc.). We describe how a neural network is constructed and how it is trained using the backpropagation algorithm.

What You Will Learn

  • Design algorithms for detecting meaningful changes in a scene
  • Develop methods for tracking objects in a video while the object undergoes changes in pose and illumination
  • Learn several approaches to segmenting an image into meaningful regions
  • Create an end-to-end pipeline for learning and recognizing objects based on their visual appearance

Course 5 of 5 in the First Principles of Computer Vision Specialization

Syllabus

WEEK 1: Getting Started: Visual Perception
WEEK 2: Object Tracking
WEEK 3: Image Segmentation
WEEK 4: Appearance Matching
WEEK 5: Neural Networks

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Computer Vision with Embedded Machine Learning (Coursera) Coursera
Edge Impulse

Computer Vision with Embedded Machine Learning (Coursera)

Computer vision (CV) is a fascinating field of study that attempts to automate the process of assigning meaning to digital images or videos. In other words, we are helping computers see and understand the world around us! A number of machine learning (ML) algorithms and techniques can be used to accomplish CV tasks, and as ML becomes faster and more efficient, we can deploy these techniques to embedded systems.

Aug 3rd 2026
3 Weeks
The Neuromarketing Toolbox (Coursera) Coursera
Copenhagen Business School

The Neuromarketing Toolbox (Coursera)

Doing marketing research by asking people has been a common method and does still have advantages. On the other hand, if you want insights into the non-conscious interpretations of a consumer’s decision, then you need other research tools in your research toolbox. Neuromarketing makes use of such an extended toolbox, containing both technical equipment and ways of doing experimental research.

Aug 3rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Image Segmentation, Filtering, and Region Analysis (Coursera) Coursera
MathWorks

Image Segmentation, Filtering, and Region Analysis (Coursera)

In this course, you will build on the skills learned in Introduction to Image Processing to work through common complications such as noise. You’ll use spatial filters to deal with different types of artifacts. You’ll learn new approaches to segmentation such as edge detection and clustering. You’ll also analyze regions of interest and calculate properties such as size, orientation, and location.

Aug 3rd 2026
4 Weeks
Introducción al Aprendizaje Profundo (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Austral

Introducción al Aprendizaje Profundo (Coursera)

Este curso te brindará los conocimientos introductorios sobre Aprendizaje Profundo, vas a entender los fundamentos teóricos y su implementación . Se comenzará entendiendo cómo evolucionó el campo hasta llegar a las redes profundas y cuáles son sus principales beneficios frente a otras técnicas de aprendizaje supervisado, así como también sus limitaciones y situaciones en donde no posee un rendimiento superior

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Machine Learning (Coursera) Coursera
Stanford University

Machine Learning (Coursera)

Machine learning is the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed. In the past decade, machine learning has given us self-driving cars, practical speech recognition, effective web search, and a vastly improved understanding of the human genome. Machine learning is so pervasive today that you probably use it dozens of times a day without knowing it. Many researchers also think it is the best way to make progress towards human-level AI. In this class, you will learn about the most effective machine learning techniques, and gain practice implementing them and getting them to work for yourself. More importantly, you'll learn about not only the theoretical underpinnings of learning, but also gain the practical know-how needed to quickly and powerfully apply these techniques to new problems.

Jul 27th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Getting Started with Machine Learning at the Edge on Arm (Coursera) Coursera
Arm

Getting Started with Machine Learning at the Edge on Arm (Coursera)

The age of machine learning has arrived! Arm technology is powering a new generation of connected devices with sophisticated sensors that can collect a vast range of environmental, spatial and audio/visual data. Typically this data is processed in the cloud using advanced machine learning tools that are enabling new applications reshaping the way we work, travel, live and play.

Aug 3rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Introduction to Embedded Machine Learning (Coursera) Coursera
Edge Impulse

Introduction to Embedded Machine Learning (Coursera)

Machine learning allows us to teach computers to make predictions and decisions based on data and learn from experiences. In recent years, incredible optimizations have been made to machine learning algorithms, software frameworks, and embedded hardware. Thanks to this, running deep neural networks and other complex machine learning algorithms is possible on low-power devices like microcontrollers. This course will give you a broad overview of how machine learning works, how to train neural networks, and how to deploy those networks to microcontrollers.

Aug 16th 2026
3 Weeks