Automatie object recognition is a multidisciplinary research area using
con- cepts and tools from mathematics, computing, optics, psychology,
pattern recognition, artificial intelligence and various other
disciplines. The purpose of this research is to provide a set of
coherent paradigms and algorithms for the purpose of designing systems
that will ultimately emulate the functions performed by the Human Visual
System (HVS). Hence, such systems should have the ability to recognise
objects in two or three dimensions independently of their positions,
orientations or scales in the image. The HVS is employed for tens of
thousands of recognition events each day, ranging from navigation
(through the recognition of landmarks or signs), right through to
communication (through the recognition of characters or people
themselves). Hence, the motivations behind the construction of
recognition systems, which have the ability to function in the real
world, is unquestionable and would serve industrial (e.g. quality
control), military (e.g. automatie target recognition) and community
needs (e.g. aiding the visually impaired). Scope, Content and
Organisation of this Book This book provides a comprehensive, yet
readable foundation to the field of object recognition from which
research may be initiated or guided. It repre- sents the culmination of
research topics that I have either covered personally or in conjunction
with my PhD students. These areas include image acqui- sition, 3-D
object reconstruction, object modelling, and the matching of ob- jects,
all of which are essential in the construction of an object recognition
system.