1. A method for recognizing a pattern having a set of features, the method comprising the following steps: convolving a plurality of fixed feature detectors with a local window scanned over a representation of the pattern to generate a plurality of feature maps; applying a nonlinearity function to each feature map separately; sensing local combinations of at least one simple feature of the feature maps; and recognizing the pattern by classifying it on the basis of the sensed local combinations, wherein essentially statistically independent features are pre-set for the local combination of features.