What is the field of study that enables computers to interpret visual information?

The field of study that enables computers to interpret visual information is computer vision. This discipline focuses on how computers can be made to gain understanding from digital images or videos. It involves the development of algorithms and models that allow machines to process visual data, identify objects, recognize faces, and capture scenes, among other tasks.

Computer vision is vital in applications such as autonomous vehicles, medical imaging, augmented reality, and surveillance systems. The objectives of computer vision extend beyond mere image processing; it seeks to extract meaningful information from images in a way that mimics human visual perception, making it a crucial component in the advancement of artificial intelligence and smart technologies.

While related fields, such as image processing, deal specifically with manipulating and enhancing images, computer vision combines these techniques with machine learning and pattern recognition to interpret and understand the content of those images. This distinguishes computer vision as a specific area focused on the comprehension aspect of visual data rather than just its processing.