Optical–digital hybrid image search system in cloud environment

To improve the versatility and usability of optical correlators, we developed an optical–digital hybrid image search system consisting of digital servers and an optical correlator that can be used to perform image searches in the cloud environment via a web browser. This hybrid system employs a simple method to obtain correlation signals and has a distributed network design. The correlation signals are acquired by using an encoder timing signal generated by a rotating disk, and the distributed network design facilitates the replacement and combination of the digital correlation server and the optical correlator.