Means and method of processing optical image edge data

摘要

Means and methods are provided for processing the quantity Si which corresponds to a point i in space where Si=(Xi2+Yi2)1/2 and Xi and Yi are quantities lying along mutually orthogonal axes in the space. Si is approximated by the expression A¦Xi¦+B¦Yi¦ where A and B are constant coefficients selected to minimize the error in value of Si according to a selected error computation. A and B can be approximated as a binary power series with each series including a preselected number of terms. Another embodiment does not require means for approximating A and B as binary power series, but segments the coordinate space into m sectors and computes and Am and Bm for each of said m sectors. A particularly advantageous application of the invention is its use in a device and method for processing edge data concerning an edge in an optical image where Si is the Sobel, Prewitt or Roberts square root edge operators.