Patent Document ID: 4887304
Application ID: 07326436
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. In a process for identifying an unknown object by comparing a received image of the unknown object with each one of a plurality of reference images in a library of reference images, each reference image in the library being representative of an object of known classification, a method for forming each reference image in the library comprising the steps of: (a) forming an initial library containing a plurality of reference images, each such reference image being the image of an object of an identifiable class of objects, and each such image being represented by a plurality of vertical vectors; (b) generating a set of additional reference images, each of the reference images in the set being a different image of objects of the same class, and each such image being represented by a plurality of vertical vectors, the vectors in each such image being ordered such that each vector in each image corresponds to one vector in each of the other additional reference images; and (c) computing a plurality of scores for each image in a set of additional reference images, each score representing the degree of similarity between the additional reference image and a different one of the reference images in the initial library and all images in the set of additional reference images being formed from objects in one class which the process for identifying an object can identify; (d) forming a correlation margin for each image in the set of additional reference images, such correlation margin indicative of the degree to which the additional reference image differs from the reference in the initial library; (e) forming an accumulated composite image by adding corresponding vertical vectors in all of the additional reference images with correlation margins in a range of values; and (f) forming a new library image by combining the accumulated composite image with the reference image in the initial library of the object of the same class as the objects used to form the additional reference images.