What is recorded here?
A plane transformation converts image points on locally straight particle tracks into intersecting lines whose common knot gives the track segment parameters, with an electronic scanning and storage embodiment. A photograph can contain many curved particle tracks mixed with background marks. Hough proposed dividing the picture into small windows, where a track can be approximated by a straight segment. Rather than following every segment directly, each detected point draws a line in another coordinate plane. Points on the same straight segment produce lines meeting at a common knot, which identifies the segment position and slope. The patent describes camera scanning, pulse discrimination, oscilloscope transforms and stored coordinates for subsequent computer analysis. Window size, contrast threshold and detectable mark width matter; the source requires scans at right angles. Exact geometric concurrence describes ideal points; noisy data requires a tolerance or voting mechanism. It did not reproduce the electronics or measure recognition accuracy. This entry covers the patent filed in1960 and published in1962; later polar-coordinate and generalized voting methods require separate credit.
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Scientific scope
The target is US3069654, filed in March 1960 and granted in December 1962. It maps points in locally straight image-track segments to lines whose intersections identify segment parameters, with a specified scanning/storage apparatus. Exact geometric concurrence does not guarantee performance under arbitrary noise or image complexity. Frame height, orientation, width/contrast criteria and thresholds matter; the reported device timing is not a WRS measurement. Paul V. C. Hough is the inventor and the US Atomic Energy Commission is the assignee. Earlier 1959 priority and later polar/generalized variants are outside this assessed patent contribution.
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People and systems
Paul V. C. Hough
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English catalogue narrative
Hough: identify straight image segments through parameter-space intersections
A plane transformation converts image points on locally straight particle tracks into intersecting lines whose common knot gives the track segment parameters, with an electronic scanning and storage embodiment.
A photograph can contain many curved particle tracks mixed with background marks. Hough proposed dividing the picture into small windows, where a track can be approximated by a straight segment. Rather than following every segment directly, each detected point draws a line in another coordinate plane. Points on the same straight segment produce lines meeting at a common knot, which identifies the segment position and slope. The patent describes camera scanning, pulse discrimination, oscilloscope transforms and stored coordinates for subsequent computer analysis. Window size, contrast threshold and detectable mark width matter; the source requires scans at right angles. Exact geometric concurrence describes ideal points; noisy data requires a tolerance or voting mechanism. It did not reproduce the electronics or measure recognition accuracy. This entry covers the patent filed in1960 and published in1962; later polar-coordinate and generalized voting methods require separate credit.
Scientific scope
The target is US3069654, filed in March 1960 and granted in December 1962. It maps points in locally straight image-track segments to lines whose intersections identify segment parameters, with a specified scanning/storage apparatus. Exact geometric concurrence does not guarantee performance under arbitrary noise or image complexity. Frame height, orientation, width/contrast criteria and thresholds matter; the reported device timing is not a WRS measurement. Paul V. C. Hough is the inventor and the US Atomic Energy Commission is the assignee. Earlier 1959 priority and later polar/generalized variants are outside this assessed patent contribution.
People and systems
Paul V. C. Hough