A Universal Method for Hierarchical Object Recognition based on Low-Power Vision Sensors

A universal software framework for hierarchical object recognition has been devised based on V.B. Mountcastle's observation [1] that the human cortex consists of the same basic functionality which is used to subdivide the complex computations into elementary matching tasks, independently whether auditory, visual, olfactory, haptic or any other sensory information is presented at the input. Combined with a unique vision sensor system that is capable to directly extract contrast magnitude and direction, a powerful combination of hardware and software for real-time pattern-recognition tasks at very low power-consumption levels is presented.