Abstract
We show that the class of special purpose picture processors has common characteristics which set it apart from conventional general purpose computers. We argue for the implementation of a fast serial processor of gray scale images having easy access to a tessellated gray scale neighborhood, where the tessellation of a neighborhood is the movement of that neighborhood through the image array in some deterministic way. Such a machine would be very useful in an interactive system used for problems such as the design of effective procedures for automated cell classification.