Optical snake-based segmentation processor with a shadow-casting incoherent correlator

What is believed to be the first incoherent snake-based optoelectronic proc essor that is able to segment an object in a real image is described. The p rocess, based on active contours (snakes), consists of correlating adaptive binary references with the scene image. The proposed optical implementatio n of algorithms that are already operational numerically opens attractive p ossibilities for faster processing. Furthermore, this experiment has yielde d a new, versatile application for optical processors. (C) 2001 Optical Soc iety of America.