Patent ID: 7961908

Claim:
A method of acquiring and processing data of an image, comprising: acquire data of a plurality of images in succession, process the acquired data of the plurality of images in succession by a method that comprises, for the images individually: establish boundaries of windows in the individual image, evaluate data within individual windows with respect to stored data of a first set of features of the particular type of object and assign first scores to the individual windows that represent a likelihood of the presence of the first set of features of the particular type of object in the corresponding individual windows, compare the first scores with a predetermined first threshold to determine a first group of windows having first scores indicative of the likelihood of the presence of the first set of features of the particular type of object and thereby to reject those of the individual windows other than those of the first group, wherein said first group of the windows is one or more but less than all of the windows, thereafter evaluate data within the individual selected windows of the first group, but not the rejected windows, with respect to stored data of a second set of features of the particular type of object and assign second scores to the individual windows of the first group that represent the likelihood of the presence of the second set of features of the particular type of object in the corresponding individual windows of the first group, and compare the second scores with a predetermined second threshold to determine a second group of windows having second scores indicative of the likelihood of the presence of the second set of features of the particular type of object and thereby to reject those of the individual windows of the first group other than those of the second group.