Multilevel Thresholding for Image Segmentation Using an Improved Electromagnetism Optimization Algorithm

Image segmentation is considered one of the most important tasks in image processing, which has several applications in different areas such as; industry agriculture, medicine, etc. In this paper, we develop the electromagnetic optimization (EMO) algorithm based on levy function, EMO-levy, to enhance the EMO performance for determining the optimal multi-level thresholding of image segmentation. In general, EMO simulates the mechanism of attraction and repulsion between charges to develop the individuals of a population. EMO takes random samples from search space within the histogram of image, where, each sample represents each particle in EMO. The quality of each particle is assessed based on Otsu’s or Kapur objective function value. The solutions are updated using EMO operators until determine the optimal objective functions. Finally, this approach produces segmented images with optimal values for the threshold and a few number of iterations. The proposed technique is validated using different standard test images. Experimental results prove the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed algorithm for image segmentation compared with well-known optimization methods

Fast Threshold Selection Algorithm of Infrared Human Images Based on Two-Dimensional Fuzzy Tsallis Entropy

Infrared images are fuzzy and noisy by nature; thus the segmentation of human targets in infrared images is a challenging task. In this paper, a fast thresholding method of infrared human images based on two-dimensional fuzzy Tsallis entropy is introduced. First, to address the fuzziness of infrared image, the fuzzy Tsallis entropy of objects and that of background are defined, respectively, according to probability partition principle. Next, this newly defined entropy is extended to two dimensions to make good use of spatial information to deal with the noise in infrared images, and correspondingly a fast computation method of two-dimensional fuzzy Tsallis entropy is put forward to reduce its computation complexity from O(L2) to O(L). Finally, the optimal parameters of fuzzy membership function are searched by shuffled frog-leaping algorithm following maximum entropy principle, and then the best threshold of an infrared human image is computed from the optimal parameters. Compared with typical entropy-based thresholding methods by experiments, the method presented in this paper is proved to be more efficient and robust

A Novel Plant Root Foraging Algorithm for Image Segmentation Problems

This paper presents a new type of biologically-inspired global optimization methodology for image segmentation based on plant root foraging behavior, namely, artificial root foraging algorithm (ARFO). The essential motive of ARFO is to imitate the significant characteristics of plant root foraging behavior including branching, regrowing, and tropisms for constructing a heuristic algorithm for multidimensional and multimodal problems. A mathematical model is firstly designed to abstract various plant root foraging patterns. Then, the basic process of ARFO algorithm derived in the model is described in details. When tested against ten benchmark functions, ARFO shows the superiority to other state-of-the-art algorithms on several benchmark functions. Further, we employed the ARFO algorithm to deal with multilevel threshold image segmentation problem. Experimental results of the new algorithm on a variety of images demonstrated the suitability of the proposed method for solving such problem

Parametric improvement of lateral interaction in accumulative computation in motion-based segmentation

Segmentation of moving objects is an essential component of any vision system. However, its accomplishment is hard due to some challenges such as the occlusion treatment or the detection of objects with deformable appearance. In this paper an artificial neuronal network approach for moving object segmentation, called lateral interaction in accumulative computation (LIAC), which uses accumulative computation and recurrent lateral interaction is revisited. Although the results reported for this approach so far may be considered relevant, the problems faced each time (environment, objects of interest, etc.) make that the system outcome varies. Hence, our aim is to improve segmentation provided by LIAC in a double sense: by removing the detected objects not matching some size or compactness constraints, and by learning suitable parameters that improve the segmentation behavior through a genetic algorithm

Hybrid Artificial Root Foraging Optimizer Based Multilevel Threshold for Image Segmentation

This paper proposes a new plant-inspired optimization algorithm for multilevel threshold image segmentation, namely, hybrid artificial root foraging optimizer (HARFO), which essentially mimics the iterative root foraging behaviors. In this algorithm the new growth operators of branching, regrowing, and shrinkage are initially designed to optimize continuous space search by combining root-to-root communication and coevolution mechanism. With the auxin-regulated scheme, various root growth operators are guided systematically. With root-to-root communication, individuals exchange information in different efficient topologies, which essentially improve the exploration ability. With coevolution mechanism, the hierarchical spatial population driven by evolutionary pressure of multiple subpopulations is structured, which ensure that the diversity of root population is well maintained. The comparative results on a suit of benchmarks show the superiority of the proposed algorithm. Finally, the proposed HARFO algorithm is applied to handle the complex image segmentation problem based on multilevel threshold. Computational results of this approach on a set of tested images show the outperformance of the proposed algorithm in terms of optimization accuracy computation efficiency

Economic Analysis of HRES Systems with Energy Storage During Grid Interruptions and Curtailment in Tamil Nadu, India:A Hybrid RBFNOEHO Technique

This work presents an economic analysis of a hybrid renewable energy source (HRES) integrated with an energy storage system (ESS) using batteries with a new proposed strategy. Here, the HRES system comprises wind turbines (WT) and a photovoltaic (PV) system. The hybrid WT, PV and energy storage system with battery offer several benefits, in particular, high wind generation utilization rate, and optimal generation for meeting supply-demand gaps. The real recorded data of various parameters of a 22 KV hybrid ‘Regen’ feeder of 110/22 KV Vagarai Substation of TANTRANSCO in Palani of Tamilnadu in India was gathered, studied for the entire year of 2018, and utilized in this paper. The proposed strategy is the hybridization of two algorithms called Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) and Oppositional Elephant Herding Optimization (OEHO) named the RBFNOEHO technique. With the help of RBFNN, the continuous load demand required for the HRES and be tracked. OEHO is used to optimize a perfect combination of HRES with the predicted load demand. The aim of the proposed hybrid RBFNOEHO is to study the cost comparison of the HRES system with the existing conventional base method, energy storage method (ESS) with batteries and with HOMER. The proposed Hybrid RBFNOEHO technique is evaluated by comparing it with the other techniques; it is found that the proposed method yields a more optimal solution than the other techniques

Swarm Intelligence-Based Hybrid Models for Short-Term Power Load Prediction

Swarm intelligence (SI) is widely and successfully applied in the engineering field to solve practical optimization problems because various hybrid models, which are based on the SI algorithm and statistical models, are developed to further improve the predictive abilities. In this paper, hybrid intelligent forecasting models based on the cuckoo search (CS) as well as the singular spectrum analysis (SSA), time series, and machine learning methods are proposed to conduct short-term power load prediction. The forecasting performance of the proposed models is augmented by a rolling multistep strategy over the prediction horizon. The test results are representative of the out-performance of the SSA and CS in tuning the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) and support vector regression (SVR) in improving load forecasting, which indicates that both the SSA-based data denoising and SI-based intelligent optimization strategy can effectively improve the model’s predictive performance. Additionally, the proposed CS-SSA-SARIMA and CS-SSA-SVR models provide very impressive forecasting results, demonstrating their strong robustness and universal forecasting capacities in terms of short-term power load prediction 24 hours in advance