I hadn’t learned much about computer vision before reading this article, except it was about enabling computers to “see” and understand visual data. What struck me most was the irony in how computer vision compares to human vision. Computers can be unbelievably precise, catching patterns, colors, or tiny movements that a human eye might overlook. But they can also completely miss things we find easy, like recognizing a familiar face in poor lighting or spotting an object that’s just been turned around. To me, that contrast really shows how naturally flexible our own vision is, while computer vision feels much more rigid and depends on whether the physical conditions it was trained for are perfectly reproduced. I came to see how important it is to design the physical environment when working with computer vision so that the system can function more effectively – for instance, arranging lighting, colors, and contrasts to make key features easily detectable.
As I thought more about computer vision, I realized that helping a computer “see” is not just about coding; it’s also about choosing the right technique for the specific task. Methods like color tracking or motion detection can work really well, but they each have their weak spots. For instance, a color tracker could get confused if the background shares the same shade, and a motion detector could be thrown off by something moving in the background that has nothing to do with the task. It made me see how much depends on matching the method to the situation; otherwise, the results fall apart.
When it comes to interactive art, computer vision’s ability to track and even surveil people feels both fascinating and a bit worrying. Tracking can make an artwork feel alive—it follows your gestures and responds in ways that draw you in. But surveillance goes further than that. It suggests being constantly observed, maybe even recorded, without realizing it. This is where the concern for privacy creeps in. One artwork that shows this really well is Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Surface Tension. In this piece, a large projected human eye follows you around the room. At first, it feels playful and interactive, like the artwork is aware of you, but the longer you stay, the more uncomfortable it becomes. I guess this tension is what makes interactive art with computer vision so compelling, because it not only provides us with an engaging experience but also pushes us to reflect on the aspect of being monitored.