New measures for comparing matrices and their application to image processing

•We present the concept of matrix resemblance functions, i.e., functions that measure the similarity between two matrices.•We give two construction methods and study the main properties of matrix resemblance functions.•We design an algorithm for image comparison based on matrix resemblance functions.•We propose an application of this algorithm for defect detection in industrial manufacturing processes.•We propose an application of this algorithm for video motion detection and object tracking.