Lie group method: A new approach to image matching with arbitrary orientations

In this article, we develop a new method for image matching of any two images with arbitrary orientations. The idea comes from the workpiece localization in machining industry. We first describe an image as a 3D point set other than the common 2D function f(x, y), then, making the sets corresponding to the compared images form solid surfaces, we equivalently translate the matching problem into an optimization problem on the Lie group SE(3). Through developing a kind of steepest descent algorithms on a general Lie group, we present an practical algorithm for matching problem. Simulations of eye detection and face detection are presented to show the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed algorithm. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 20, 245–252, 2010.