Abstract :
The author examines synergetics, an interdisciplinary field of research that is concerned with the spontaneous formation of macroscopic spatial, temporal, or functional structures of systems by self-organization. When a system is controlled by control parameters, at specific values of those parameters the system may undergo qualitative macroscopic changes. The old state loses its stability, and in the transition, the dynamics are governed by a few collective variables: the order parameters. They enslave all the other variables of the system so that an enormous reduction of the degrees of freedom is obtained. The authors show how the principles of synergetics help construct synergetic computers for pattern recognition. Examples are provided for the recognition of faces, ambiguous figures, and scenes.<>
Keywords :
computerised pattern recognition; self-adjusting systems; ambiguous figures; collective variables; control parameters; faces; interdisciplinary field; pattern recognition; qualitative macroscopic changes; scenes; self-organization; synergetics; Biology computing; Chemical lasers; Control systems; Equations; Fingers; Gas lasers; Laser theory; Legged locomotion; Stability; Testing;
