# Event-based Vision: A Survey

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.08405 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.08405/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1,018 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 17 Apr 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 1018)

- [DSEC: A Stereo Event Camera Dataset for Driving Scenarios](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.06011/) (2021)
- [Training Spiking Neural Networks Using Lessons From Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.12894/) (2021)
- [Recurrent Vision Transformers for Object Detection with Event Cameras](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.05598/) (2022)
- [E-RAFT: Dense Optical Flow from Event Cameras](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.10552/) (2021)
- [Spike-driven Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.01694/) (2023)
- [Learning High-Speed Flight in the Wild](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.05113/) (2021)
- [VisEvent: Reliable Object Tracking via Collaboration of Frame and Event Flows](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.05015/) (2021)
- [AEGNN: Asynchronous Event-based Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.17149/) (2022)
- [Delivering Arbitrary-Modal Semantic Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.01480/) (2023)
- [Event-Based Fusion for Motion Deblurring with Cross-modal Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.00167/) (2021)
- [Time Lens++: Event-based Frame Interpolation with Parametric Non-linear Flow and Multi-scale Fusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.17191/) (2022)
- [Attention Spiking Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.13929/) (2022)
- [Temporal-wise Attention Spiking Neural Networks for Event Streams Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.11711/) (2021)
- [Spike-driven Transformer V2: Meta Spiking Neural Network Architecture Inspiring the Design of Next-generation Neuromorphic Chips](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.03663/) (2024)
- [Self-Supervised Learning of Event-Based Optical Flow with Spiking Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.01862/) (2021)
- [EventNeRF: Neural Radiance Fields from a Single Colour Event Camera](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.11896/) (2022)
- [Event-aided Direct Sparse Odometry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.07640/) (2022)
- [Secrets of Event-Based Optical Flow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.10022/) (2022)
- [Combining Events and Frames using Recurrent Asynchronous Multimodal Networks for Monocular Depth Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.09320/) (2021)
- [Deep Learning for Event-based Vision: A Comprehensive Survey and Benchmarks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.08890/) (2023)
- [Object Tracking by Jointly Exploiting Frame and Event Domain](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.09052/) (2021)
- [ESS: Learning Event-based Semantic Segmentation from Still Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.10016/) (2022)
- [State Space Models for Event Cameras](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.15584/) (2024)
- [Time-Ordered Recent Event (TORE) Volumes for Event Cameras](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.06108/) (2021)
- [Event Stream-based Visual Object Tracking: A High-Resolution Benchmark Dataset and A Novel Baseline](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.14611/) (2023)
- [GET: Group Event Transformer for Event-Based Vision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.02642/) (2023)
- [E-NeRF: Neural Radiance Fields from a Moving Event Camera](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.11300/) (2022)
- [Recent Event Camera Innovations: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.13627/) (2024)
- [Ev-NeRF: Event Based Neural Radiance Field](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.12455/) (2022)
- [Learning Dense and Continuous Optical Flow from an Event Camera](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.09078/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Event cameras are bio-inspired sensors that differ from conventional frame cameras: Instead of capturing images at a fixed rate, they asynchronously measure per-pixel brightness changes, and output a stream of events that encode the time, location and sign of the brightness changes. Event cameras offer attractive properties compared to traditional cameras: high temporal resolution (in the order of microseconds), very high dynamic range (140 dB vs. 60 dB), low power consumption, and high pixel bandwidth (on the order of kHz) resulting in reduced motion blur. Hence, event cameras have a large potential for robotics and computer vision in challenging scenarios for traditional cameras, such as low-latency, high speed, and high dynamic range. However, novel methods are required to process the unconventional output of these sensors in order to unlock their potential. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging field of event-based vision, with a focus on the applications and the algorithms developed to unlock the outstanding properties of event cameras. We present event cameras from their working principle, the actual sensors that are available and the tasks that they have been used for, from low-level vision (feature detection and tracking, optic flow, etc.) to high-level vision (reconstruction, segmentation, recognition). We also discuss the techniques developed to process events, including learning-based techniques, as well as specialized processors for these novel sensors, such as spiking neural networks. Additionally, we highlight the challenges that remain to be tackled and the opportunities that lie ahead in the search for a more efficient, bio-inspired way for machines to perceive and interact with the world.