Making computer vision accessible for undergraduates

This paper describes a newly developed course in computer vision targeted at mid-level undergraduate computer science students. Computer vision is an area of increasing importance in many recent and emerging applications, but has tradi-tionally been taught at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level. To make this challenging topic accessible for a wider audience, the course focuses on practical application and experimentation, with reduced emphasis on advanced program-ming and mathematics. Weekly hands-on lab assignments help students gain an in-tuitive and experimentally grounded understanding of a wide variety of topics, from color spaces to image features to object tracking. We present an overview of the course, student outcomes, and lessons learned.