Object Detection
A computer vision task that identifies and locates specific objects within an image or video, providing both the object class and its position (usually as a bounding box).
Why It Matters
Object detection powers autonomous driving, security surveillance, retail analytics, and medical imaging. It combines classification ('what') with localization ('where').
Example
A self-driving car's system detecting and drawing bounding boxes around every pedestrian, vehicle, traffic light, and stop sign in a camera frame, with confidence scores.
Think of it like...
Like a wildlife photographer who not only identifies each animal species but marks exactly where each one is in the photo with a rectangle.
Related Terms
Computer Vision
A field of AI that trains computers to interpret and understand visual information from the world — images, videos, and real-time camera feeds. It enables machines to 'see' and make decisions based on what they see.
Convolutional Neural Network
A type of neural network specifically designed for processing grid-like data such as images. CNNs use convolutional layers that apply filters to detect patterns like edges, textures, and shapes at different scales.
Image Classification
A computer vision task that assigns a category label to an entire image. The model determines what the main subject of the image is from a predefined set of categories.