New Algorithms For Automated Symmetry Recognition
Jody Paul, Tammy Elaine Kilgore, Allen Klinger · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1988
In this paper we present new methods for computer-based symmetry identification that combine elements of group theory and pattern recognition. Detection of symmetry has diverse applications including: the reduction of image data to a manageable subset with minimal information loss, the interpretation of sensor data,1 such as the x-ray diffraction patterns which sparked the recent discovery of a new "quasicrystal" phase of solid matter,2 and music analysis and composition.3,4,5 Our algorithms are expressed as parallel operations on the data using the matrix representation and manipulation features of the APL programming language. We demonstrate the operation of programs that characterize symmetric and nearly-symmetric patterns by determining the degree of invariance with respect to candidate symmetry transformations. The results are completely general; they may be applied to pattern data of arbitrary dimension and from any source.