Optical processing for machine vision

A cursory review of applications of optical processing in machine vision is presented. Applications are discussed in the areas of data acquisition, feature extraction, and pattern recognition, along with possible future directions arising from current research in optical computing. The main advantage of optical processing is its ability to process large amounts of data. This advantage is most useful in the low-level portions of the vision problem. Current work on optical computing may change this picture dramatically, both in the viability of applications such as are described here, and in application of optical techniques to the high-level portions of the vision problem