Computational sensor for visual tracking with attention

Abstract

This paper presents a VLSI embodiment of an optical tracking computational sensor which focuses attention on a salient target in its field of view. Using both low-latency massive parallel processing and top-down sensory adaptation, the sensor suppresses interference from features irrelevant for the task at hand, and tracks a target of interest at speeds of up to 7000 pixels/s. The sensor locks onto the target to continuously provide control for the execution of a perceptually guided activity. The sensor prototype, a 24 24 array of cells, is built in 2- m CMOS technology. Each cell occupies 62 m 62 m of silicon, and contains a photodetector and processing electronics.