A method for object localization comprises defining an edge model for object localization, and searching an image for an object matching the edge model. Searching comprises defining a region of interest, including a portion of the object, sub-sampling the region of interest, and extracting an edge image comprising edges from the region of interest. Searching further comprises thinning at least one edge of the edge image, determining a distance map between the image and the edge image according to a distance transformation, and matching the edge model to the edge image within a search area defined according to the distance map.