The area of pattern recognition and computer vision, after over 35 years of continued development, has now reached its maturity. The theories, techniques and algorithms are mostly well developed. There are a number of applications which are still being explored. New approaches motivated by applications and new computer architectures available are still being studied. Also the recently renewed and intensive efforts on neural networks have had great and positive impact on pattern recognition and computer vision development. Pattern recognition and computer vision will definitely play a very major role in advanced automation as we enter the 21st century.

Amid all of these activities now going on, this new Handbook of Pattern Recognition and Computer Vision is much needed to cover what has been well developed in theory, techniques and algorithms and the major applications of pattern recognition and computer vision as well as the new hardwarelarchitecture aspects of computer vision and the related development in pattern recognition. The previous Handbook of Pattern Recognition and Image Processing, edited by T. Y. Young and the late K. S. Fu (Academic Press, 1986) was well received. The progress in pattern recognition and computer vision has been particularly significant in the recent past. We believe this new handbook that reflects more recent developments especially in computer vision will serve well the increasingly larger community of readers in the area. As students and friends of Prof. Fu, we remember well his vigorous efforts to broaden the frontiers of pattern recognition and computer vision in both theories and applications, to build it as an interdisciplinary area, and to lay down the foundation of intelligent and automated systems based on pattern recognition and computer vision. The book, in keeping up with his vision for the area, provides an extensive coverage of major research progress since the publication of Young and Fu’s book.