Termination condition for a parallel shape coding and a parallel shape coding algorithm

Presents a parallel shape analysis depending on simultaneous merging of elementary features detected through calculation of the number of objects within neighboring windows. Termination condition for parallel shape processing is formulated and proved. Hierarchy of neighborhood operations for a parallel feature merging process is established to recognize more primitive features first (as tips and object bounds), then curved and straight strips, then regions, and finally forks and junctions. This hierarchy is necessary in order to have a complete data (feature) set adequate for consideration by the termination condition at a current recognition level. The parallel algorithm can be embedded on a SIMD grid architecture. Elementary image features are detected inside partly overlapping windows fixed in an image plane. Each window contents is processed by a separate processing element (PE). Two neighboring feature chunks are merged by adjacent PEs, and the merged feature chunks are joined in each next lth parallel step by every 2^lth PE possessing complementary feature. The shape coding terminates if a complete set of features making a whole meet together on one PE