What is computer vision?

If I asked you to name the objects in the picture below, you would probably come up with a list of words such as "tablecloth, basket, grass, boy, girl, man, woman, orange juice bottle, tomatoes, lettuce, disposable plates…" without thinking twice. Now, if I told you to describe the picture below, you would probably say, "It's the picture of a family picnic" again without giving it a second thought. Those are two very easy tasks that any person with below-average intelligence and above the age of six or seven could accomplish. However, in the background, a very complicated process takes place. The human vision is a very intricate piece of organic technology that involves our eyes and visual cortex, but also takes into account our mental models of objects, our abstract understanding of concepts and our personal experiences through billions and trillions of interactions we've made with the world in our lives. Digital equipment can capture images at resolutions and with detail that far surpasses the human vision system.