A Feature-Detection Program for Patterns with Overlapping Cells

An attempt is made to extract feature informations automatically from patterns which may consist of open lines, partially overlapping cells, and cells that may lie entirely inside another cell. The usual pattern-recognition techniques, such as the linear threshold logic technique and the masking or template technique, are not practical here, if not entirely impossible. In this paper, a direct-search computer program using a heuristic approach is described. A test pattern is used to illustrate the capability of the program. The subject should be of general interest to those in the field of automation and cybernetics.