This book is the outcome of the successful NATO Advanced Study Institute on Pattern Recognition Theory and Applications, held at St. Anne's College, Oxford, in April 1981., The aim of the meeting was to review the recent advances in the theory of pattern recognition and to assess its current and future practical potential. The theme of the Institute - the decision making aspects of pattern recognition with the emphasis on the novel hybrid approaches - and its scope - a high level tutorial coverage of pattern recognition methodologies counterpointed with contrib uted papers on advanced theoretical topics and applications - are faithfully reflected by the volume. The material is divided into five sections: 1. Methodology 2. Image Understanding and Interpretation 3. Medical Applications 4. Speech Processing and Other Applications 5. Panel Discussions. The first section covers a broad spectrum of pattern recognition methodologies, including geometric, statistical, fuzzy set, syntactic, graph-theoretic and hybrid approaches. Its cove,r age of hybrid methods places the volume in a unique position among existing books on pattern recognition. The second section provides an extensive treatment of the topical problem of image understanding from both the artificial intelligence and pattern recognition points of view. The two application sections demonstrate the usefulness of the novel methodologies in traditional pattern 'recognition application areas. They address the problems of hardware/software implementation and of algorithm robustness, flexibility and general reliability. The final section reports on a panel discussion held during the Institute.

Human and animal vision systems have been driven by the pressures of evolution to become capable of perceiving and reacting to their environments as close to instantaneously as possible. Casting such a goal of reactive vision into the framework of existing technology necessitates an artificial system capable of operating continuously, selecting and integrating information from an environment within stringent time delays. The YAP (Vision As Process) project embarked upon the study and development of techniques with this aim in mind. Since its conception in 1989, the project has successfully moved into its second phase, YAP II, using the integrated system developed in its predecessor as a basis. During the first phase of the work the "vision as a process paradigm" was realised through the construction of flexible stereo heads and controllable stereo mounts integrated in a skeleton system (SA V A) demonstrating continuous real-time operation. It is the work of this fundamental period in the V AP story that this book aptly documents. Through its achievements, the consortium has contributed to building a strong scientific base for the future development of continuously operating machine vision systems, and has always underlined the importance of not just solving problems of purely theoretical interest but of tackling real-world scenarios. Indeed the project members should now be well poised to contribute (and take advantage of) industrial applications such as navigation and process control, and already the commercialisation of controllable heads is underway.

Human and animal vision systems have been driven by the pressures of evolution to become capable of perceiving and reacting to their environments as close to instantaneously as possible. Casting such a goal of reactive vision into the framework of existing technology necessitates an artificial system capable of operating continuously, selecting and integrating information from an environment within stringent time delays. The YAP (Vision As Process) project embarked upon the study and development of techniques with this aim in mind. Since its conception in 1989, the project has successfully moved into its second phase, YAP II, using the integrated system developed in its predecessor as a basis. During the first phase of the work the "vision as a process paradigm" was realised through the construction of flexible stereo heads and controllable stereo mounts integrated in a skeleton system (SA V A) demonstrating continuous real-time operation. It is the work of this fundamental period in the V AP story that this book aptly documents. Through its achievements, the consortium has contributed to building a strong scientific base for the future development of continuously operating machine vision systems, and has always underlined the importance of not just solving problems of purely theoretical interest but of tackling real-world scenarios. Indeed the project members should now be well poised to contribute (and take advantage of) industrial applications such as navigation and process control, and already the commercialisation of controllable heads is underway.

This book is the outcome of the successful NATO Advanced Study Institute on Pattern Recognition Theory and Applications, held at St. Anne's College, Oxford, in April 1981., The aim of the meeting was to review the recent advances in the theory of pattern recognition and to assess its current and future practical potential. The theme of the Institute - the decision making aspects of pattern recognition with the emphasis on the novel hybrid approaches - and its scope - a high level tutorial coverage of pattern recognition methodologies counterpointed with contrib uted papers on advanced theoretical topics and applications - are faithfully reflected by the volume. The material is divided into five sections: 1. Methodology 2. Image Understanding and Interpretation 3. Medical Applications 4. Speech Processing and Other Applications 5. Panel Discussions. The first section covers a broad spectrum of pattern recognition methodologies, including geometric, statistical, fuzzy set, syntactic, graph-theoretic and hybrid approaches. Its cove, r age of hybrid methods places the volume in a unique position among existing books on pattern recognition. The second section provides an extensive treatment of the topical problem of image understanding from both the artificial intelligence and pattern recognition points of view. The two application sections demonstrate the usefulness of the novel methodologies in traditional pattern 'recognition application areas. They address the problems of hardware/software implementation and of algorithm robustness, flexibility and general reliability. The final section reports on a panel discussion held during the Institute."