6,124 research outputs found
A morphological approach for segmentation and tracking of human faces
A new technique for segmenting and tracking human faces in video sequences is presented. The technique relies on morphological tools such as using connected operators to extract the connected component that more likely belongs to a face, and partition projection to track this component through the sequence. A binary partition tree (BPT) is used to implement the connected operator. The BPT is constructed based on the chrominance criteria and its nodes are analyzed so that the selected node maximizes an estimation of the likelihood of being part of a face. The tracking is performed using a partition projection approach. Images are divided into face and non-face parts, which are tracked through the sequence. The technique has been successfully assessed using several test sequences from the MPEG-4 (raw format) and the MPEG-7 databases (MPEG-1 format).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Connected operators based on region-tree pruning strategies
This paper discusses region-based representations useful to create connected operators. The filtering approach involves three steps: 1) a region tree representation of the input image is constructed; 2) the simplification is obtained by pruning the tree; and 3) and output image is constructed from the pruned tree. The paper focuses in particular on the pruning strategies that can be used depending of the increasing of the simplification criteria.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
On morphological hierarchical representations for image processing and spatial data clustering
Hierarchical data representations in the context of classi cation and data
clustering were put forward during the fties. Recently, hierarchical image
representations have gained renewed interest for segmentation purposes. In this
paper, we briefly survey fundamental results on hierarchical clustering and
then detail recent paradigms developed for the hierarchical representation of
images in the framework of mathematical morphology: constrained connectivity
and ultrametric watersheds. Constrained connectivity can be viewed as a way to
constrain an initial hierarchy in such a way that a set of desired constraints
are satis ed. The framework of ultrametric watersheds provides a generic scheme
for computing any hierarchical connected clustering, in particular when such a
hierarchy is constrained. The suitability of this framework for solving
practical problems is illustrated with applications in remote sensing
Morphological operators for very low bit rate video coding
This paper deals with the use of some morphological tools for video coding at very low bit rates. Rather than describing a complete coding algorithm, the purpose of this paper is to focus on morphological connected operators and segmentation tools that have proved to be attractive for compression.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Flat zones filtering, connected operators, and filters by reconstruction
This correspondence deals with the notion of connected operators. Starting from the definition for operator acting on sets, it is shown how to extend it to operators acting on function. Typically, a connected operator acting on a function is a transformation that enlarges the partition of the space created by the flat zones of the functions. It is shown that from any connected operator acting on sets, one can construct a connected operator for functions (however, it is not the unique way of generating connected operators for functions). Moreover, the concept of pyramid is introduced in a formal way. It is shown that, if a pyramid is based on connected operators, the flat zones of the functions increase with the level of the pyramid. In other words, the flat zones are nested. Filters by reconstruction are defined and their main properties are presented. Finally, some examples of application of connected operators and use of flat zones are described.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
A Cosmic Watershed: the WVF Void Detection Technique
On megaparsec scales the Universe is permeated by an intricate filigree of
clusters, filaments, sheets and voids, the Cosmic Web. For the understanding of
its dynamical and hierarchical history it is crucial to identify objectively
its complex morphological components. One of the most characteristic aspects is
that of the dominant underdense Voids, the product of a hierarchical process
driven by the collapse of minor voids in addition to the merging of large ones.
In this study we present an objective void finder technique which involves a
minimum of assumptions about the scale, structure and shape of voids. Our void
finding method, the Watershed Void Finder (WVF), is based upon the Watershed
Transform, a well-known technique for the segmentation of images. Importantly,
the technique has the potential to trace the existing manifestations of a void
hierarchy. The basic watershed transform is augmented by a variety of
correction procedures to remove spurious structure resulting from sampling
noise. This study contains a detailed description of the WVF. We demonstrate
how it is able to trace and identify, relatively parameter free, voids and
their surrounding (filamentary and planar) boundaries. We test the technique on
a set of Kinematic Voronoi models, heuristic spatial models for a cellular
distribution of matter. Comparison of the WVF segmentations of low noise and
high noise Voronoi models with the quantitatively known spatial characteristics
of the intrinsic Voronoi tessellation shows that the size and shape of the
voids are succesfully retrieved. WVF manages to even reproduce the full void
size distribution function.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures, MNRAS accepted, for full resolution, see
http://www.astro.rug.nl/~weygaert/tim1publication/watershed.pd
A graph-based mathematical morphology reader
This survey paper aims at providing a "literary" anthology of mathematical
morphology on graphs. It describes in the English language many ideas stemming
from a large number of different papers, hence providing a unified view of an
active and diverse field of research
Hierarchical image simplification and segmentation based on Mumford-Shah-salient level line selection
Hierarchies, such as the tree of shapes, are popular representations for
image simplification and segmentation thanks to their multiscale structures.
Selecting meaningful level lines (boundaries of shapes) yields to simplify
image while preserving intact salient structures. Many image simplification and
segmentation methods are driven by the optimization of an energy functional,
for instance the celebrated Mumford-Shah functional. In this paper, we propose
an efficient approach to hierarchical image simplification and segmentation
based on the minimization of the piecewise-constant Mumford-Shah functional.
This method conforms to the current trend that consists in producing
hierarchical results rather than a unique partition. Contrary to classical
approaches which compute optimal hierarchical segmentations from an input
hierarchy of segmentations, we rely on the tree of shapes, a unique and
well-defined representation equivalent to the image. Simply put, we compute for
each level line of the image an attribute function that characterizes its
persistence under the energy minimization. Then we stack the level lines from
meaningless ones to salient ones through a saliency map based on extinction
values defined on the tree-based shape space. Qualitative illustrations and
quantitative evaluation on Weizmann segmentation evaluation database
demonstrate the state-of-the-art performance of our method.Comment: Pattern Recognition Letters, Elsevier, 201
Optimum graph cuts for pruning binary partition trees of polarimetric SAR images
This paper investigates several optimum graph-cut techniques for pruning binary partition trees (BPTs) and their usefulness for the low-level processing of polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) images. BPTs group pixels to form homogeneous regions, which are hierarchically structured by inclusion in a binary tree. They provide multiple resolutions of description and easy access to subsets of regions. Once constructed, BPTs can be used for a large number of applications. Many of these applications consist in populating the tree with a specific feature and in applying a graph cut called pruning to extract a partition of the space. In this paper, different pruning examples involving the optimization of a global criterion are discussed and analyzed in the context of PolSAR images for segmentation. Through the objective evaluation of the resulting partitions by means of precision-and-recall-for-boundaries curves, the best pruning technique is identified, and the influence of the tree construction on the performances is assessed.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
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