Corner detection and curve representation by circular histograms of contour chain code

A new algorithm is proposed for representing and characterising the contour s of 2D objects, as well as detecting their corners. The novelty lies in th e curvature estimation technique which is based on circular histograms of t he contour chain code. Two histograms are calculated at the neighbourhood o f every point, and instead of considering them of linear type and being com pared by correlation, they are considered to be circular and compared by a new method which defines a circular mean of variable origin. The main advan tages of this method are its low computational overhead and the precision o f the obtained curvature functions.