Patent Document ID: 4590607
Application ID: 06755706
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of detecting correspondence between multiple frames of image data, each frame represented by a matrix of pixels, said method comprising the steps of: transforming the matrix representing a first frame of image data in at least one serial neighborhood processing stage by a predetermined number of electronic erosion sequences thereby reducing the matrix to a plurality of discrete islands of pixels; transforming the matrix representing a second frame of image data in at least one serial neighborhood processing stage by performing the predetermined number of electronic erosion sequences to reduce the matrix associated with the second frame to a plurality of discrete islands of pixels; removing, from the matrix representing the first frame of image data, all discrete islands of pixels which consist of a plurality of pixels, to leave a first transformed matrix containing a first plurality of single points of nonconnected pixels; removing, from the matrix representing the second frame of image data, all discrete islands of pixels which consist of a plurality of pixels, to leave a second transformed matrix containing a second plurality of single points of nonconnected pixels; storing, for each of the two pluralities of single points, the coordinates of the single points; and labeling each single point in a transformed matrix having exactly one single point in the other transformed matrix satisfying a predetermined spatial relationship with its location in the other transformed matrix, whereby the correspondence between multiple frames of image data is detected.