System and method of feature descriptor processing

A method of generating a feature descriptor, the method comprising:

• determining, at a processor, a first output histogram of an input by processing a first group of pixels of the input to determine first contributions to bins of the first output histogram, the input including orientation values and gradient magnitude values of a portion of an image that is in a region of a detected feature;
• and
• after processing the first group of pixels, determining, at the processor, a second output histogram of the input by processing a second group of pixels of the input to determine second contributions to bins of the second output histogram.

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising at least one instruction, the at least one instruction, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to perform operations comprising:

• determining a first output histogram of an input by processing a first group of pixels of the input to determine first contributions to bins of the first output histogram, the input including orientation and gradient magnitude values of a portion of an image that is in a region of a detected feature;
• and
• after processing the first group of pixels, determining a second output histogram of the input by processing a second group of pixels of the input to determine second contributions to bins of the second output histogram.

An apparatus comprising:

• means for loading registers with data of a group of pixels of an input, the group of pixels selected in accordance with a particular iteration of an iterative feature descriptor operation;
• and
• means for performing vector processing of the data to determine first contributions to bins of an output histogram that is selected in accordance with the particular iteration.