Abstract
This paper reports on the status of ongoing research aimed at the development of analog VLSI sensory modules with embedded dynamic perceptual processing. A schematic organisation of vision-guided behaviour and a mathematical model for a reaction and diffusion system are presented. A basic co-operative block (the Perceptual Engine) is introduced and its practical realisation, performance and limitations are described. Its application in the hardware implementation of an important class of perceptual problems, such as stereo disparity estimation and motion analysis, is considered. The main assets of the Perceptual Engine are seen as its capability of providing rapid reactions to sensorial data and its robustness. (A)