Recently, Freeman and Adelson (1991) and Simoncelli et al. (1992) publ
ished an approach to steer filters in their orientation and scale by F
ourier decompositions. We present a generalization of their formalism
based on Lie group theory. Within this framework we especially clarify
the following points: (1) the possible scope of steerability by Fouri
er decompositions, (2) approximate steerability with a limited number
of basis functions, (3) the singularity that occurs when steering the
scale.