This dissertation will describe a technique which had been proven to provide a desirable high-speed interactive capability for manipulation of edge imagery. Since the technique is implemented through modification of circuit components rather than through the more customary software-based methods, it can be referred to as the hardware edge detection method. Since the technique has meaning only within the context of performance of an interactive image manipulation system, a rather complete description of such a system is also provided. This system has been developed by the author to exploit the potential of the basic technique. This dissertation will provide an extensive view of experimental results obtained with the system;After development of a set of baseline values, this dissertation will establish a foundation for understanding of the edge detection technique by providing a fairly detailed description of the image processing system in which the technique will be described and experimental results obtained on a wide variety of images will be given.