An attention-based imaging system is described, including a camera that can adjust its field of view (FOV) and resolution and a control routine that can determine one or more regions of interest (ROI) within the FOV to prioritize camera resources. The camera includes an image sensor, an internal lens, a steerable mirror, an external lens, and a controller. The external lens is disposed to monitor a viewable region, and the steerable mirror is interposed between the internal lenses and the external lenses. The steerable mirrors are arranged to project the viewable region from the external lens onto the image sensor via the internal lens. The steerable mirror modifies the viewable region that is projected onto the image sensor and controls the image sensor to capture an image. The associated control routine can be deployed either inside the camera or in a separate external processor.