1. A pattern matching method for determining the absence or presence of instances of a pattern in an image, and for determining the location of each found instance within a multi-dimensional space, the method comprising: using a computer to perform the steps of: receiving a training image; receiving a list of generalized degrees-of-freedom (DOFs); receiving a run-time image; using the training image to provide a model that represents a pattern to be found, the model including a plurality of probes, each probe having a position with respect to the model at which at least one test is to be performed upon the image at a found pose of the model, each such test contributing evidence that the pattern exists at the found pose; and analyzing the run-time image using the list of generalized degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) and the model to provide a list of results, each result corresponding to an instance of the pattern in the run-time image, using a sequence of increasingly precise match functions to locate each result.