Group control system for visual information processing

A group control system, coupled to a computer which processes information supplied thereto from said system, comprising:

• first means for generating plural groups of sequential pulses each of said pulse groups being shifted in time with respect to each other;
• plural groups of image pickup devices, coupled to said first means, the image pickup devices in each respective group being responsive to a respective group of sequential pulses generated by said first means, with each image pickup device of a respective group of image pickup devices converting a received image pattern into electrical image signals representative of the received image pattern under the synchronizing control of the pulses in that respective pulse group to which said respective group of image pickup devices is responsive;
• a plurality of visual information processors, coupled to said first means and the respective groups of image pickup devices, each visual information processor being responsive to a respective group of sequential pulses generated by said first means and extracting predetermined feature information of the image patterns represented by the electrical image signals generated by the image pickup devices of that respective group of image pickup devices to which said each visual information processor is coupled, under the synchronizing control of the pulses in that respective pulse group to which said that respective group of image pickup devices is responsive;
• and
• second means, coupled to said visual information processor and said computer, for supplying feature information extracted by said visual information processors to said computer.