A physical system for binocular vision through saccade generation and vergence control

Abstract

The human naturally possesses a robust and effective visual system that utilizes saccade and vergence eye movements to explore the visual environment. This article presents a system that provides the functional biological equivalent which consists of a pair of cameras that provide for saccade and vergence eye movements. Included in this article is a detailed description of a simplified equivalent of the saccade generation module (typically from the superior colliculus (SC)) based on a FLANN image segmentation method and a visual cortex (VC) equivalent model based on a hierarchical disparity estimation model for vergence control. These two models cooperate to provide the systematic means for the autonomous exploration of the scene. Combining saccade and vergence movements, we are able to selectively reconstruct the 3D relative positions of objects in the scene and segment the image of the object under vergence. © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.