Edge detectionEdge detection includes a variety of mathematical methods that aim at identifying edges, curves in a at which the image brightness changes sharply or, more formally, has discontinuities. The same problem of finding discontinuities in one-dimensional signals is known as step detection and the problem of finding signal discontinuities over time is known as change detection. Edge detection is a fundamental tool in , machine vision and computer vision, particularly in the areas of feature detection and feature extraction.
Canny edge detectorThe Canny edge detector is an edge detection operator that uses a multi-stage algorithm to detect a wide range of edges in images. It was developed by John F. Canny in 1986. Canny also produced a computational theory of edge detection explaining why the technique works. Canny edge detection is a technique to extract useful structural information from different vision objects and dramatically reduce the amount of data to be processed. It has been widely applied in various computer vision systems.
Sobel operatorThe Sobel operator, sometimes called the Sobel–Feldman operator or Sobel filter, is used in and computer vision, particularly within edge detection algorithms where it creates an image emphasising edges. It is named after Irwin Sobel and Gary M. Feldman, colleagues at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL). Sobel and Feldman presented the idea of an "Isotropic 3 × 3 Image Gradient Operator" at a talk at SAIL in 1968. Technically, it is a discrete differentiation operator, computing an approximation of the of the image intensity function.
Pyramid (image processing)Pyramid, or pyramid representation, is a type of multi-scale signal representation developed by the computer vision, and signal processing communities, in which a signal or an image is subject to repeated smoothing and subsampling. Pyramid representation is a predecessor to scale-space representation and multiresolution analysis. There are two main types of pyramids: lowpass and bandpass. A lowpass pyramid is made by smoothing the image with an appropriate smoothing filter and then subsampling the smoothed image, usually by a factor of 2 along each coordinate direction.
Prewitt operatorThe Prewitt operator is used in , particularly within edge detection algorithms. Technically, it is a discrete differentiation operator, computing an approximation of the of the image intensity function. At each point in the image, the result of the Prewitt operator is either the corresponding gradient vector or the norm of this vector. The Prewitt operator is based on convolving the image with a small, separable, and integer valued filter in horizontal and vertical directions and is therefore relatively inexpensive in terms of computations like Sobel and Kayyali operators.
Digital image processingDigital image processing is the use of a digital computer to process s through an algorithm. As a subcategory or field of digital signal processing, digital image processing has many advantages over . It allows a much wider range of algorithms to be applied to the input data and can avoid problems such as the build-up of noise and distortion during processing. Since images are defined over two dimensions (perhaps more) digital image processing may be modeled in the form of multidimensional systems.
Gaussian blurIn , a Gaussian blur (also known as Gaussian smoothing) is the result of blurring an by a Gaussian function (named after mathematician and scientist Carl Friedrich Gauss). It is a widely used effect in graphics software, typically to reduce and reduce detail. The visual effect of this blurring technique is a smooth blur resembling that of viewing the image through a translucent screen, distinctly different from the bokeh effect produced by an out-of-focus lens or the shadow of an object under usual illumination.
Gaussian functionIn mathematics, a Gaussian function, often simply referred to as a Gaussian, is a function of the base form and with parametric extension for arbitrary real constants a, b and non-zero c. It is named after the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. The graph of a Gaussian is a characteristic symmetric "bell curve" shape. The parameter a is the height of the curve's peak, b is the position of the center of the peak, and c (the standard deviation, sometimes called the Gaussian RMS width) controls the width of the "bell".
Gaussian filterIn electronics and signal processing, mainly in digital signal processing, a Gaussian filter is a filter whose impulse response is a Gaussian function (or an approximation to it, since a true Gaussian response would have infinite impulse response). Gaussian filters have the properties of having no overshoot to a step function input while minimizing the rise and fall time. This behavior is closely connected to the fact that the Gaussian filter has the minimum possible group delay.
Edge-preserving smoothingEdge-preserving smoothing or edge-preserving filtering is an technique that smooths away noise or textures while retaining sharp edges. Examples are the median, bilateral, guided, anisotropic diffusion, and Kuwahara filters. In many applications, e.g., medical or satellite imaging, the edges are key features and thus must be preserved sharp and undistorted in smoothing/denoising. Edge-preserving filters are designed to automatically limit the smoothing at “edges” in images measured, e.g., by high gradient magnitudes.
Image gradientAn image gradient is a directional change in the intensity or color in an image. The gradient of the image is one of the fundamental building blocks in . For example, the Canny edge detector uses image gradient for edge detection. In graphics software for , the term gradient or color gradient is also used for a gradual blend of color which can be considered as an even gradation from low to high values, as used from white to black in the images to the right. Another name for this is color progression.
Corner detectionCorner detection is an approach used within computer vision systems to extract certain kinds of features and infer the contents of an image. Corner detection is frequently used in motion detection, , video tracking, image mosaicing, panorama stitching, 3D reconstruction and object recognition. Corner detection overlaps with the topic of interest point detection. A corner can be defined as the intersection of two edges. A corner can also be defined as a point for which there are two dominant and different edge directions in a local neighbourhood of the point.
Median filterThe median filter is a non-linear digital filtering technique, often used to remove noise from an image or signal. Such noise reduction is a typical pre-processing step to improve the results of later processing (for example, edge detection on an image). Median filtering is very widely used in digital because, under certain conditions, it preserves edges while removing noise (but see the discussion below), also having applications in signal processing.
Image segmentationIn and computer vision, image segmentation is the process of partitioning a into multiple image segments, also known as image regions or image objects (sets of pixels). The goal of segmentation is to simplify and/or change the representation of an image into something that is more meaningful and easier to analyze. Image segmentation is typically used to locate objects and boundaries (lines, curves, etc.) in images. More precisely, image segmentation is the process of assigning a label to every pixel in an image such that pixels with the same label share certain characteristics.
Image editingImage editing encompasses the processes of altering s, whether they are digital photographs, traditional photo-chemical photographs, or illustrations. Traditional analog image editing is known as photo retouching, using tools such as an airbrush to modify photographs or editing illustrations with any traditional art medium. Graphic software programs, which can be broadly grouped into vector graphics editors, raster graphics editors, and 3D modelers, are the primary tools with which a user may manipulate, enhance, and transform images.
Laplace operatorIn mathematics, the Laplace operator or Laplacian is a differential operator given by the divergence of the gradient of a scalar function on Euclidean space. It is usually denoted by the symbols , (where is the nabla operator), or . In a Cartesian coordinate system, the Laplacian is given by the sum of second partial derivatives of the function with respect to each independent variable. In other coordinate systems, such as cylindrical and spherical coordinates, the Laplacian also has a useful form.
Anisotropic diffusionIn and computer vision, anisotropic diffusion, also called Perona–Malik diffusion, is a technique aiming at reducing without removing significant parts of the image content, typically edges, lines or other details that are important for the interpretation of the image. Anisotropic diffusion resembles the process that creates a scale space, where an image generates a parameterized family of successively more and more blurred images based on a diffusion process.
Gaussian noiseIn signal processing theory, Gaussian noise, named after Carl Friedrich Gauss, is a kind of signal noise that has a probability density function (pdf) equal to that of the normal distribution (which is also known as the Gaussian distribution). In other words, the values that the noise can take are Gaussian-distributed. The probability density function of a Gaussian random variable is given by: where represents the grey level, the mean grey value and its standard deviation.
Elliptic operatorIn the theory of partial differential equations, elliptic operators are differential operators that generalize the Laplace operator. They are defined by the condition that the coefficients of the highest-order derivatives be positive, which implies the key property that the principal symbol is invertible, or equivalently that there are no real characteristic directions. Elliptic operators are typical of potential theory, and they appear frequently in electrostatics and continuum mechanics.
Discrete Laplace operatorIn mathematics, the discrete Laplace operator is an analog of the continuous Laplace operator, defined so that it has meaning on a graph or a discrete grid. For the case of a finite-dimensional graph (having a finite number of edges and vertices), the discrete Laplace operator is more commonly called the Laplacian matrix. The discrete Laplace operator occurs in physics problems such as the Ising model and loop quantum gravity, as well as in the study of discrete dynamical systems.
