An Outlook into the Future of Egocentric Vision

TL;DR

This survey examines the current state of egocentric vision research, identifies gaps relative to future wearable computing applications, and suggests directions for advancing software models to enable integrated, personalized, and always-on wearable visual systems.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive mapping of research tasks, reviews seminal works and datasets, and offers strategic recommendations to bridge the gap to future egocentric vision applications.

Findings

Current technology has limitations in real-world applications.

Existing datasets and methodologies are insufficient for future needs.

Strategic research directions are proposed for advancing egocentric vision.

Abstract

What will the future be? We wonder! In this survey, we explore the gap between current research in egocentric vision and the ever-anticipated future, where wearable computing, with outward facing cameras and digital overlays, is expected to be integrated in our every day lives. To understand this gap, the article starts by envisaging the future through character-based stories, showcasing through examples the limitations of current technology. We then provide a mapping between this future and previously defined research tasks. For each task, we survey its seminal works, current state-of-the-art methodologies and available datasets, then reflect on shortcomings that limit its applicability to future research. Note that this survey focuses on software models for egocentric vision, independent of any specific hardware. The paper concludes with recommendations for areas of immediate explorations so as to unlock our path to the future always-on, personalised and life-enhancing egocentric vision.