Perceptual imaging

Perception is a complex process that involves brain activities at different levels. The availability of models for the representation and interpretation of the sensory information opens up new research avenues that cut across neuroscience, imaging, information engineering and modern robotics. The goal of the multi-disciplinary field of perceptual imaging is to identify the features of the stimuli that determine their "perception", namely "a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present", and to establish associated computational models that can be generalized and exploited for designing a human-centered approach to imaging. The aim of this talk is to provide an overview of the rationale, methodology and approach characteristic of this novel interdisciplinary research field. After a brief introduction outlining the basic ideas of the proposed research framework, the way such generic principles translates into design and validation rules for
automatic systems will be illustrated through some examples. In particular, the focus will be on the following issues: medical imaging, color naming and multi-sensory signal processing.