Computer Image Comprehension

Background:

Images are all around us—on screens, in books, and even in the world we see everyday. But have you ever wondered how computers understand and display these images? At their core, images are made up of tiny colored squares called pixels, and each pixel is like a small 1x3 square containing values for Red, Green, and Blue (RGB). When combined in different amounts, these colors create every shade you see on a screen. Computers store images as a variable type known as tensors, which are like 3D grids of numbers representing these color images.

In this activity, you’ll explore how computers interpret images as data, breaking them down into their RGB components. You’ll also see how matrices, a key math concept, help organize this data, connecting what you’ve learned about numbers and grids to real-world technology. Understanding these ideas is important because they form the foundation of digital graphics, from video games and movies to medical imaging and satellite photos.

These concepts aren’t just for computers, they’re used in everyday life! When you take a photo on your phone, edit a picture, or even watch a movie, RGB pixels and matrices are working behind the scenes. Even self-driving cars use image tensors to "see" the road. By learning how images work, you’re unlocking the secrets behind the digital world and discovering how math and technology come together to create the visuals we rely on every day.