PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Robert B. Fisher

Also known as Bob Fisher, Robert Fisher

Robert Fisher is a computer-vision researcher whose work includes 3D scene analysis and online resources for the field. He earned degrees in mathematics and computer science at Caltech, Stanford and Edinburgh, then worked as a software engineer before completing his Edinburgh PhD in 1987. At Edinburgh, he joined the academic staff, helped found the Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour, and became a full professor in 2003. His 1989 book, online image-processing tutorials and CVonline describe computer-vision methods and teaching resources; IAPR named him a Fellow in 2008, and BMVA awarded him its Distinguished Fellowship in 2010. He served as IAPR president from 2024 to 2026 and, as of October 2026, is Chair in Computer Vision at Edinburgh's School of Informatics.

Works
433
Citations
13,378
h-index
47
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1974–1987

    Degrees and software work

    He earns a mathematics BS with honors at Caltech in 1974 and an MS in computer science at Stanford in 1978. He works as a software engineer, then completes a computer-science PhD at Edinburgh in 1987.

  2. 1984–2003

    Academic career at Edinburgh

    Fisher joins Edinburgh's academic staff in 1984 and helps found the Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour. He becomes a full professor in 2003.

  3. 1989

    A 3D scene analysis book

    In 1989, he publishes From Surfaces to Objects: Computer Vision and Three Dimensional Scene Analysis, a book presenting model-based 3D scene analysis.

  4. 1996–2007

    Online tutorials and CVonline

    In 1996, his Hypermedia Image Processing Reference appears on CD-ROM, and he publishes HIPR2 on the web in 2000. By 2007, he edits CVonline, an online compendium of computer vision.

  5. 2008

    An IAPR Fellowship

    IAPR names him a Fellow in 2008 for contributions to 3D computer vision and the development of online resources for the research community.

  6. 2010

    BMVA Distinguished Fellowship

    BMVA awards Fisher its Distinguished Fellowship in 2010; he becomes the association's first American recipient.

  7. 2024–2026

    IAPR president

    He serves as president of the International Association for Pattern Recognition (IAPR) during its 2024–2026 term.

  8. As of October 2026

    Chair in Computer Vision

    As of October 2026, he is Chair in Computer Vision at the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics.

Career

  1. Since 1984University of EdinburghAcademic Staff, Co-founder
  2. 2024–2026International Association for Pattern RecognitionPresident

Education

  1. 1987University of EdinburghPhD
  2. 1978Stanford UniversityMS
  3. 1974California Institute of TechnologyBS

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Direct least square fitting of ellipses1999 · IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence · 2,757 citationsWith Andrew Fitzgibbon
  2. Estimating 3-D rigid body transformations: a comparison of four major algorithms1997 · Machine Vision and Applications · 804 citations
  3. An experimental comparison of range image segmentation algorithms1996 · IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence · 790 citationsWith Andrew Fitzgibbon, Dmitry B. Goldgof, Horst Bunke, Kevin Bowyer and Patrick J. Flynn
  4. Direct least squares fitting of ellipses1996 · International Conference on Pattern Recognition · 300 citationsWith Andrew Fitzgibbon
  5. Object-based visual attention for computer vision2003 · Artificial Intelligence · 295 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Edinburgh. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. Universities had a net outflow of 2,068 moves in AI careersIncludes University of Edinburgh. Our estimates of career flows and median h-index across universities and companies in AI, including the role of joint appointments and earlier academic jobs.
  3. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes University of Edinburgh. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Edinburgh. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Bob Fisher - University of Edinburgh Research Explorer research.ed.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Bob Fisher's Personal Page homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. From surfaces to objects: Computer vision and three dimensional scene analysis research.ed.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Bob Fisher's Publications homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. CVonline - Compendium of Computer Vision homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Chronological List of IAPR Fellows – International Association for Pattern Recognition iapr.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. The British Machine Vision Association : Bob Fisher bmva.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Executive Committee – International Association for Pattern Recognition iapr.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Research Areas | School of Informatics | School of Informatics people.inf.ed.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.