A perceptual system is a computational system (biological or artificial) designed to make inferences about properties of a physical environment based on scenes. Other definitions may exist.

In this context, a scene is defined as sensory information that can flow from a physical environment into a computational system via sensory transduction. A sensory organ (biological or artificial) is used to capture this information. Therefore, a perceptual system must incorporate input from at least one sensory organ.

Examples of perceptual systems include:

• The visual system
• The auditory system
• The olfactory system
• The somatosensory system
• A bat's sonar/echolocation system
• A man-made light meter
• A man-made motion detector

Research in the field of perceptual systems focuses on computational aspects of perception. For this reason, there is significant overlap with neuroscience, sensor design, natural scene statistics,^[1][2] and computer science.