EXC 2002/1: Object-Level Scene Descriptions and Attention in Visual Search (Research Unit 1, SP 01)

This project focuses on the potential of object-level search processes for understanding visual scene analysis in humans and assesses their potential for real-world scene interpretation and search tasks by computer vision systems. In order to perform this research, we will study an ecologically valid setting where free-viewing mode, real-world dynamic scenes and visual exploration tasks have to be performed simultaneously. This will provide novel insights into the question of how human subjects balance attentional processing under – potentially conflicting – task demands. To this end, we will combine eye-tracking experiments in humans with the computational modelling of fixation sequences, with algorithm development, and with the design of computer vision systems using foveated attention and camera movements akin to eye movements.