Abstract
We propose a novel optical pattern recognition system using multiple phase-shifted-reference fringe-adjusted joint transform correlation (MRFJTC) techniques. The MRFJTC algorithm can efficiently detect an object of interest in the input scene by producing a highly distinctive correlation peak while rejecting any and all nontarget objects in a complex background. The simple architecture of the proposed system can simultaneously recognize multiple targets of the reference class when present. The recognition performance is fast, automatic, and invariant to noise and distortions.