Apparatus for generating a feature matrix based on normalized out-class and in-class variation matrices

A device for acquiring images, extracting image information, storing the image information, and comparing the image information with query image information comprising:

• first means for acquiring images;
• second means for processing said images into image information;
• third means for determining the most distinctive aspects of said image information;
• said third means including means for performing an In-Class to Out-of-Class study;
• fourth means for forming and storing database feature vectors comprising the magnitudes of said most distinctive aspects of said image information;
• and
• fifth means for querying said fourth means to determine whether a query feature vector is sufficiently similar to any of said database feature vectors,
• wherein said means for performing an In-Class to Out-of-Class study includes:
• means for generating an In-Class Variation Matrix;
• means for generating an Out-Class Variation Matrix;
• means for normalizing said In-Class Variation Matrix to form a normalized In-Class Variation Matrix;
• means for normalizing said Out-Class Variation Matrix to form a normalized Out-Class Variation Matrix;
• means for generating a feature matrix, each component of said feature matrix corresponding to a ratio between corresponding components of said normalized Out-Class Variation Matrix and said normalized In-Class Variation Matrix;
• means for normalizing said feature matrix into a Normalized Feature Matrix;
• means for partitioning said Normalized Feature Matrix into bricks;
• means for prioritizing said bricks;
• and
• means for creating a feature template vector whose elements correspond to a subset of said bricks.