5 The Visual Attention System VOCUS: Top-Down Extension

Abstract

Detecting regions of interest with visual attention is an important mechanism in human visual perception. However, what is of interest depends on the situation. In the previous chapter, we focused on simulating bottom-up mechanisms of visual attention. These define regions as interesting which have a high contrast to their surroundings and are unique in the setting. As mentioned in chapter 2, top-down influences also play an important role in human visual attention: knowledge, motivations, emotions, and goals define what is of interest in a certain situation.