Feature extraction by use of an array of the Hough transform filters

We propose a method to extract features optically from the input pattern by use of an array of the Hough transform filters. Here the subparts of the input pattern are Hough transformed by their corresponding elements of the filter array independently and simultaneously. Being compared with the conventional method, in which the whole input pattern is Hough transformed by a single optical filter, our method provides not only the improved transform accuracy but also the approximate position information of the line segment features. To show the feasibility of our approach, we fabricated a 5 x 5 filter array and performed preliminary experiments.