Toward objective evaluation of image segmentation algorithms

Unsupervised image segmentation is an important component in many image understanding algorithms and practical vision systems. However, evaluation of segmentation algorithms thus far has been largely subjective, leaving a system designer to judge the effectiveness of a technique based only on intuition and results in the form of a few example segmented images. This is largely due to image segmentation being an ill-defined problem-there is no unique ground-truth segmentation of an image against which the output of an algorithm may be compared. This paper demonstrates how a recently proposed measure of similarity, the normalized probabilistic rand (NPR) index, can be used to perform a quantitative comparison between image segmentation algorithms using a hand-labeled set of ground-truth segmentations. We show that the measure allows principled comparisons between segmentations created by different algorithms, as well as segmentations on different images. We outline a procedure for algorithm evaluation through an example evaluation of some familiar algorithms - the mean-shift-based algorithm, an efficient graph-based segmentation algorithm, a hybrid algorithm that combines the strengths of both methods, and expectation maximization. Results are presented on the 300 images in the publicly available Berkeley segmentation data set     

A multiscale gradient algorithm for image segmentation using watershelds

Watershed transformation is a powerful tool for image segmentation. However, the effectiveness of the image segmentation methods based on watershed transformation is limited by the quality of the gradient image used in the methods. In this paper we present a multiscale algorithm for computing gradient images, with effective handling of both step and blurred edges. We also present an algorithm for eliminating irrelevant minima in the resulting gradient images. Experimental results indicate that watershed transformation with the algorithms proposed in this paper produces meaningful segmentations, even without a region merging step. The proposed algorithms can efficiently improve segmentation accuracy and significantly reduce the computational cost of watershed-based image segmentation methods.     

森林病虫害监测中的无人机图像分割算法比较

以错分率、相对最终测量精度以及运行时间为评价标准,利用无人机采集的油松及沙棘正射图像为测试图像,对6种基于像素聚类及分水岭的图像分割算法的性能进行了定性分析及定量比较。实验结果表明,受灾林区图像的分割算法的性能与图像拍摄高度、噪声等因素密切相关。最后,给出了受灾林区无人机正射图像分割算法应用的指导性建议。     

A method for multi-spectral image segmentation evaluation based on synthetic images

A general framework for testing the quality of the segmentation of a multi-spectral satellite image is proposed. The method is based on the production of synthetic images with the spectral characteristics of the image pixels extracted from a signature multi-spectral image. The knowledge of the location of objects in the synthetic image provides a reference segmentation, which allows for a quantitative evaluation of the quality provided by a segmentation algorithm. The Hammoude metric and three external similarity indices (Rand, Corrected Rand, and Jaccard) were chosen to perform this evaluation, but other metrics can also be used. The proposed methodology can be used for any type of satellite image (or multi-spectral image), set of land cover types, and segmentation algorithms.A practical application was carried out to illustrate the value of the proposed method. A SPOT satellite image was used to extract the spectral signature of 8 land cover types. Three test images were produced using the 8 land cover classes and two different 5 class sub-sets. The segmentation results provided by a standard algorithm were compared with the reference or expected segmentation. The results clearly indicate that the quality of a segmentation obtained from a multi-spectral image not only depends on the geometric properties of the objects present in the image, but also on their spectral characteristics. The results suggest that a specific evaluation should be carried out for each particular experiment, as the segmentation results are very dependent on the choice of land cover types.     

基于多目标规划的模糊C均值聚类算法

模糊C均值聚类算法(FCM)是一种非常经典的非监督聚类技术,已被广泛地应用到医学图像分割。由于传统的FCM聚类算法在分割图像时仅利用了图像的灰度信息,未利用图像的空间信息,在分割叠加了噪声的磁共振(MR)图像时分割效果不理想。考虑到脑部MR图像真实的灰度值具有分片为常数的特性,按照合理利用图像空间信息的原则,对传统的FCM聚类算法进行了改进,引入多目标规划的概念,提出了一种新的,更加合理的应用图像空间信息的聚类算法。实验结果表明,应用该算法可以有效地分割含有噪声的图像。     

基于粗糙集理论的图像分割智能决策方法

尽管如今已有多种图像分割算法,但是没有任何一种分割方法能够适用于所有的图像.为了使图像跟踪系统能根据图像特征自适应选取分割算法,给出了一种基于粗糙集理论的图像分割智能决策方法.该方法首先选取若干具代表性的分割算法构成算法库,并用它们对各种样本图像进行分割;然后利用从样本图像中提取出来的各种数值特征,并根据图像分割质量评价标准评判出各样本图像的最优分割算法,用其构成决策信息表;最后应用粗糙集理论来对决策信息表进行离散化处理和属性约简,以生成图像分割算法选取的决策规则.该决策方法解决了图像跟踪系统中分割算法选取的一系列难题.实验证明,该决策方法能比较有效地根据系统所处理图像的特征选取出算法库中最优的分割算法,并可满足车载图像跟踪系统的实时性要求.     

梯度分层重构的彩色图像分水岭分割

目的 现实生活中的彩色图像往往因噪声、色彩不均匀、有较多弱边界等问题的存在导致难以准确分割,结合分水岭变换与形态学重构的优势,提出了一种基于同态滤波与形态学分层重构的分水岭分割算法。方法 首先提取彩色图像的梯度图,接着对该梯度图采用同态滤波修正梯度图。然后利用形态学开闭重构的方法,对滤波后的梯度图进行分层重构。根据梯度图像的累积分布函数及滤波后的梯度像素直方图的分布信息,给出了梯度分层数的计算公式,同时确定了形态学结构元素尺寸。最后对修正后的梯度图像应用标准分水岭变换实现了图像分割。结果 对不同类型的4幅彩色图像进行分割实验,采用区域一致性与差异性相结合的综合指标对分割结果进行无监督评价。这4幅图像的综合评价指标分别为0.6333、0.6656、0.6293、0.6484,均高于文献中两种现有分水岭算法的指标值：0.6295、0.6641、0.6230、0.6454与0.5861、0.5907、0.5704、0.5852,分割性能较好。结论 提出一种新的彩色图像分割算法,应用同态滤波保留了图像的弱边界,采用自适应形态学重构,抑制了分水岭变换中过分割。算法的分割结果更加接近人眼对图像的感知,无论从评价指标还是分割性能看,均表现出色。算法对噪声不敏感,鲁棒性较好,可广泛应用于计算机视觉、交通控制、生物医学等方面的目标分割。     

一种基于有效梯度信息的复杂图像分割方法

论文以集装箱号码图像为例,在分析比较几种流行的图像分割算法后,提出一种新的基于有效梯度信息的图像分割算法,即直接针对梯度图,对目标与背景边界部分的梯度信息进行统计分析,并在此基础上直接得到图像的阈值,完成分割。实验表明,对于类似集装箱号码的复杂图像,论文方法能得到较其他方法更好的分割效果。此外,论文方法有较好的实用性,能广泛应用于多种图像分割领域。     

基于隶属度光滑约束的模糊C均值聚类算法

传统的FCM聚类算法未利用图像的空间信息,在分割叠加了噪声的MR图像时分割效果不理想。本文考虑到脑部MR图像真实的灰度值具有分片为常数的特性,按照合理利用图像空间信息的原则,对传统的FCM聚类算法进行了改进,增加了使隶属度趋向于分片光滑的约束项,得到了新的聚类算法。通过对模拟脑部MR图像和临床脑部MR图像的分割实验结果表明,本文提出的新算法比传统的FCM算法等多种图像分割算法有更精确的图像分割能力,并且运算简单、运算速度快、稳健性好。     

Image segmentation from scale and rotation invariant texture features from the double dyadic dual-tree complex wavelet transform

A goal of image segmentation is to divide an image into regions that have some semantic meaning. Because regions of semantic meaning often include variations in colour and intensity, various segmentation algorithms that use multi-pixel textures have been developed. A challenge for these algorithms is to incorporate invariance to rotation and changes in scale. In this paper, we propose a new scale and rotation invariant, texture-based segmentation algorithm, that performs feature extraction using the Dual-Tree Complex Wavelet Transform (DT-CWT). The DT-CWT is used to analyse a signal at, and between, dyadic scales. The performance of image segmentation using this new method is compared with existing techniques over different imagery databases with operator produced ground truth data. Compared with previous algorithms, our segmentation results show that the new texture feature is capable of performing well over general images and particularly well over images containing objects with scaled and rotated textures.     

基于改进像素相关性模型的图像分割算法

图像分割是计算机视觉中的研究热点和难点.基于局部信息的模糊聚类算法(FLICM)在一定程度上提升了模糊聚类算法的鲁棒性,但噪声强度较大时无法获得较好的图像分割效果.针对传统的模糊聚类算法分割精度不佳等问题,提出了改进像素相关性模型的图像分割算法.首先通过分析像素的局部统计特征,设计了一种新型的像素相关性模型,在此基础上...     

一种新的人民币号码图像分割方法

针对人民币号码图像前景与背景分离问题,在对现有的几种分割方法进行分析实验的基础上,提出了一种新的人民币号码分割方法,即基于形态学处理的直方图阈值分割人民币号码图像的方法,对目标和背景混杂在一起,阈值选取困难的图像,先进行形态学变换,处理后的直方图阈值就很好选取了.实验结果表明,该方法的错误分割率明显低于普通的直方图阈值...     

Fuzzy c-means clustering with non local spatial information for noisy image segmentation

As an effective image segmentation method, the standard fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm is very sensitive to noise in images. Several modified FCM algorithms, using local spatial information, can overcome this problem to some degree. However, when the noise level in the image is high, these algorithms still cannot obtain satisfactory segmentation performance. In this paper, we introduce a non local spatial constraint term into the objective function of FCM and propose a fuzzy cmeans clustering algorithm with non local spatial information (FCM_NLS). FCM_NLS can deal more effectively with the image noise and preserve geometrical edges in the image. Performance evaluation experiments on synthetic and real images, especially magnetic resonance (MR) images, show that FCM_NLS is more robust than both the standard FCM and the modified FCM algorithms using local spatial information for noisy image segmentation.     

小波融合技术在图像分割算法中的应用研究

针对图像分割出现一些重要信息丢失与过分割的问题,提出了将小波融合技术应用到图像分割算法中,并对其进行实验验证。首先将图像分别进行Canny分割与迭代阈值分割;然后将这两种分割后的图像进行小波融合,得到融合图像。实验验证结果表明,与传统的Canny分割、迭代阈值分割相比,该算法能结合这两种分割算法的优点,互相弥补各自的一些不足之处并具有一定的抗噪声能力。     

Multiseeded segmentation using fuzzy connectedness

Fuzzy connectedness has been effectively used to segment out an object in a badly corrupted image. We generalize the approach by providing a definition which is shown to always determine a simultaneous segmentation of multiple objects. For any set of seed points, the segmentation is uniquely determined by the definition. An algorithm for finding this segmentation is presented and its output is illustrated. The algorithm is fast as compared to other segmentation algorithms in current use. We also report on an evaluation of the accuracy and robustness of the algorithm based on experiments in which several users were repeatedly asked to identify the seed points for the algorithm in a number of images     

Evaluation for uncertain image classification and segmentation

Each year, numerous segmentation and classification algorithms are invented or reused to solve problems where machine vision is needed. Generally, the efficiency of these algorithms is compared against the results given by one or many human experts. However, in many situations, the location of the real boundaries of the objects as well as their classes are not known with certainty by the human experts. Furthermore, only one aspect of the segmentation and classification problem is generally evaluated. In this paper we present a new evaluation method for classification and segmentation of image, where we take into account both the classification and segmentation results as well as the level of certainty given by the experts. As a concrete example of our method, we evaluate an automatic seabed characterization algorithm based on sonar images.     

Sketch‐Based Editing Tools for Tumour Segmentation in 3D Medical Images

In the past years sophisticated automatic segmentation algorithms for various medical image segmentation problems have been developed. However, there are always cases where automatic algorithms fail to provide an acceptable segmentation. In these cases the user needs efficient segmentation editing tools, a problem which has not received much attention in research. We give a comprehensive overview on segmentation editing for three‐dimensional (3D) medical images. For segmentation editing in two‐dimensional (2D) images, we discuss a sketch‐based approach where the user modifies the segmentation in the contour domain. Based on this 2D interface, we present an image‐based as well as an image‐independent method for intuitive and efficient segmentation editing in 3D in the context of tumour segmentation in computed tomography (CT). Our editing tools have been evaluated on a database containing 1226 representative liver metastases, lung nodules and lymph nodes of different shape, size and image quality. In addition, we have performed a qualitative evaluation with radiologists and technical experts, proving the efficiency of our tools.     

基于阈值及像素聚类的分割算法性能比较

图像分割是图像处理到分析的关键步骤,阈值分割方法因其计算简单而被广泛应用,聚类算法也因其准确性成为图像分割领域中一类极其重要的算法。选取几种经典阈值分割算法和几种聚类算法对几幅毫米波图像进行分割实验,并引入错分类误差、均匀测度、区域间灰度对比度作为算法测评标准,比较了各种算法对毫米波图像的分割性能。     

Modified differential evolution algorithm for contrast and brightness enhancement of satellite images

Satellite images normally possess relatively narrow brightness value ranges necessitating the requirement for contrast stretching, preserving the relevant details before further image analysis. Image enhancement algorithms focus on improving the human image perception. More specifically, contrast and brightness enhancement is considered as a key processing step prior to any further image analysis like segmentation, feature extraction, etc. Metaheuristic optimization algorithms are used effectively for the past few decades, for solving such complex image processing problems. In this paper, a modified differential Modified Differential Evolution (MDE) algorithm for contrast and brightness enhancement of satellite images is proposed. The proposed algorithm is developed with exploration phase by differential evolution algorithm and exploitation phase by cuckoo search algorithm. The proposed algorithm is used to maximize a defined fitness function so as to enhance the entropy, standard deviation and edge details of an image by adjusting a set of parameters to remodel a global transformation function subjective to each of the image being processed. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with ten recent state-of-the-art enhancement algorithms. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed algorithm in enhancing satellite images and natural scenes effectively. Objective evaluation of the compared methods was done using several full-reference and no-reference performance metrics. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation results proves that the proposed MDE algorithm outperforms others to a greater extend.