Abstract Computer vision is one of the most fundamental areas of artificial intelligence research. It has contributed to the tremendous progress in the recent deep learning revolution in AI. In this essay, we provide a perspective of the recent evolution of object recognition in computer vision, a flagship research topic that led to the breakthrough data set of ImageNet and its ensuing algorithm developments. We argue that much of this progress is rooted in the pursuit of research “north stars,” wherein researchers focus on critical problems of a scientific discipline that can galvanize major efforts and groundbreaking progress. Following the success of ImageNet and object recognition, we observe a number of exciting areas of research and a growing list of north star problems to tackle. This essay recounts the brief history of ImageNet, its related work, and the follow-up progress. The goal is to inspire more north star work to advance the field, and AI at large.

中文翻译：

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寻找计算机视觉北极星

摘要 计算机视觉是人工智能研究中最基本的领域之一。它为最近人工智能深度学习革命的巨大进步做出了贡献。在本文中，我们提供了计算机视觉中对象识别的最新发展的观点，这是一个旗舰研究课题，导致了 ImageNet 的突破性数据集及其随后的算法发展。我们认为，这些进步的大部分根源于对“北极星”研究的追求，其中研究人员专注于可以激发重大努力和突破性进展的科学学科的关键问题。随着 ImageNet 和对象识别的成功，我们观察到许多令人兴奋的研究领域和越来越多需要解决的北极星问题。本文讲述了 ImageNet 的简史、相关工作以及后续进展。目标是激发更多的北极星工作来推进该领域，以及整个人工智能。