6 - Recognition of Patterns

Abstract

This chapter describes the recognition of patterns. Recognition can be regarded as a basic attribute of living organisms. A pattern is a description of an object. Recognition of patterns is a basic activity of all living organisms. The ability to recognize patterns is a necessary part of survival. In the animal kingdom, one's survival depends upon his ability to recognize a friend and a foe. An infant learns to recognize its mother's face and voice at an early age. One can recognize people from an analysis of their hand-writing, fingerprints, and voice prints. Acts of recognition can be divided into two major types: recognition of concrete items and recognition of abstract items. Recognition of spatial and temporal patterns using one's visual and aural sensory apparatus belongs to the former type. Examples of spatial patterns are alphanumeric characters, fingerprints, and pictures. Temporal patterns include speech waveforms, electrocardiograms, time series, and target signatures. Recognition of conceptual patterns, such as the proof of a theorem, belongs to the latter type. The subject of pattern recognition spans a number of disciplines.