Iterative nonlinear joint transform correlation for the detection of objects in cluttered scenes

An iterative correlation technique with digital image processing in the fee dback loop for the detection of small objects in cluttered scenes is propos ed. A scanning aperture is combined with the method in order to improve the immunity against noise and clutter. Multiple reference objects or differen t views of one object are processed in parallel. We demonstrate the method by detecting a noisy and distorted face in a crowd with a nonlinear joint t ransform correlator. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.