An efficient algorithm for connected attribute thinnings and thickenings

Abstract. Connected attribute filters are morphological operators widely used for their ability of simplifying the image without moving its contours. In this paper, we present a fast, versatile and easy-to-implement algorithm for grayscale connected attribute thinnings and thickennings, a subclass of connected filters for the wide range of non-increasing attributes. We show that our algorithm consumes less memory and is computationally more efficient than other available methods on natural images, for strictly identical results.