Visual information fusion for object-based video image segmentation using unsupervised Bayesian online learning

An algorithm using the unsupervised Bayesian online learning process is proposed for the segmentation of object-based video images. The video image segmentation is solved using a classification method. First, different visual features (the spatial location, colour and optical-flow vectors) are fused in a probability framework for image pixel clustering. The appropriate modelling of the probability distribution function (PDF) for each feature-cluster is obtained through a Gaussian distribution. The image pixel is then assigned a cluster number in a maximum a posteriori probability framework. Different from the previous segmentation methods, the unsupervised Bayesian online learning algorithm has been developed to understand a cluster's PDF parameters through the image sequence. This online learning process uses the pixels of the previous clustered image and information from the feature-cluster to update the PDF parameters for segmentation of the current image. The unsupervised Bayesian online learning algorithm has shown satisfactory experimental results on different video sequences.     

Study on segmentation and interpretation of multi-look polarimetric SAR images

The segmentation and interpretation of multi-look polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is studied. We first introduce a multi-look polarimetric whitening filter (MPWF) to reduce the speckle in multi-look polarimetric SAR images. Then, by utilizing the wavelet multiresolution approach to extract the texture information in different scales and the Markov random field (MRF) model to characterize the spatial constraints between pixels in each scale level, a multiresolution segmentation algorithm (MSA) to segment the speckle-reduced SAR images is presented. The MSA first segments the image at the lowest resolution level and then proceeds to progressively higher resolutions until individual pixels are well classified. An unsupervised step to estimate both the optimal number of texture classes and their model parameters is also included in the MSA so that the segmentation can be implemented without supervision. Finally, in order to interpret the results of the unsupervised segmentation and to understand the whole polarimetric SAR image, we develop an image interpretation approach which jointly utilizes the scattering mechanism identification and target decomposition approaches. Experimental results with the real-world multi-look polarimetric SAR image demonstrate the effectiveness of the segmentation and interpretation approaches.     

基于小波域高斯-马尔可夫随机场的纹理分割

提出了一种基于小波域高斯—马尔可夫随机场(GMRF)模型的无监督纹理图像分割算法。该算法首先利用纹理的小波特性并结合模糊C—均值聚类方法完成纹理在最小分辨率层的初始分类,接着逐层应用同步进行参数估计和像素标签的近似最大后验分割算法,得到原始图像的第一次完整分割。为了进一步提高分割效果,对每个像素邻域内的标签作统计,利用最大值原则,从而获得满意的分割结果。实验证明此算法与基于高斯金字塔GMRF模型的算法相比,分割结果有了很大的提高。     

基于MRF场的SAR图像分割方法

提出了一种基于MRF（Markov Random field)模型的SAR（Synthetic Aperture Radar)图像分割算法,本算法利用ICM（（Iterative Conditional Mode)局部 优化方法,获得MAP（maximum a posteriori)准则下的图像分割结果。并引入了剔除外层数据的机制,用MSTAR（Moving and Stationary Target Acquisition and Recognition)数据进行实验,结果表明,算法能有效减少斑点噪声的影响将图像分割为目标,阴影,背景三部分,实验结果是令人满意的。     

Segmentation of color textures

This paper describes an approach to perceptual segmentation of color image textures. A multiscale representation of the texture image, generated by a multiband smoothing algorithm based on human psychophysical measurements of color appearance is used as the input. Initial segmentation is achieved by applying a clustering algorithm to the image at the coarsest level of smoothing. The segmented clusters are then restructured in order to isolate core clusters, i.e., patches in which the pixels are definitely associated with the same region. The image pixels representing the core clusters are used to form 3D color histograms which are then used for probabilistic assignment of all other pixels to the core clusters to form larger clusters and categorise the rest of the image. The process of setting up color histograms and probabilistic reassignment of the pixels to the clusters is then propagated through finer levels of smoothing until a full segmentation is achieved at the highest level of resolution     

Gibbs Random Fields,Fuzzy Clustering,and the Unsupervised Segmentation of Textured Images

In this paper we present an unsupervised segmentation strategy for textured images, based on a hierarchical model in terms of discrete Markov Random Fields. The textures are modeled as Gaussian Gibbs Fields, while the image partition is modeled as a Markov Mesh Random Field. The segmentation is achieved in two phases: the first one consists of evaluating, from disjoint blocks which are classified as homogeneous, the model parameters for each texture present in the image. This unsupervised learning phase uses a fuzzy clustering procedure, applied to the features extracted from every pixel block, to determine the number of textures in the image and to roughly locate the corresponding regions. The second phase consists of the fine segmentation of the image, using Bayesian local decisions based on the previously obtained model parameters. The originality of the proposed approach lies in the three following aspects: (1) the Gibbs distribution corresponding to each texture type is expressed in terms of its canonical potential. This formulation leads to a compact formulation of the global field energy, in terms of the marginal probabilities over pixel cliques. A similar expression is also introduced in the partition model. Such formulations lead to the decomposition of the segmentation problem into a set of local statistical decisions; (2) the segmentation strategy consists of an unsupervised estimation, in which the model parameters are evaluated directly from the observation, by means of a fuzzy clustering technique; (3) no arbitrary assumption is made concerning the number of textures present. Rather, the fuzzy clustering procedure used to estimate the model parameters is applied in a hierarchical manner, searching for a cluster configuration of maximum plausibility.     

基于层次Gamma混合模型的高分辨率SAR影像分割方法

为了准确地对高分辨率合成孔径雷达(SAR)影像内像素强度统计分布建模并得到高精度的分割结果,提出基于层次Gamma混合模型(HGaMM)的高分辨率SAR影像分割方法.HGaMM由多个Gamma混合模型构成,用于对非对称、重尾和多峰等复杂的像素强度统计分布建模.为了减少影像噪声对分割的影响,采用马尔科夫随机场建模像素标号场,将像素邻域位置关系引入HGaMM.根据贝叶斯理论,利用后验分布构建影像分割模型.马尔科夫链蒙特卡罗算法用于模拟影像分割模型.在模拟和真实SAR影像上的分割实验表明,文中方法可得到较高精度的分割结果.     

VBI-MRF model for image segmentation

In statistical image segmentation, the distribution of pixel values is usually assumed to be Gaussian and the optimal result is believed to be the one that has maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability. In spite of its prevalence and computational efficiency, the Gaussian assumption, however, is not always strictly followed, and hence may lead to less accurate results. Although the variational Bayes inference (VBI), in which statistical model parameters are also assumed to be random variables, has been widely used, it can hardly handle the spatial information embedded in pixels. In this paper, we incorporate spatial smoothness constraints on pixels labels interpreted by the Markov random field (MRF) model into the VBI process, and thus propose a novel statistical model called VBI-MRF for image segmentation. We evaluated our algorithm against the variational expectation-maximization (VEM) algorithm and the hidden Markov random field (HMRF) model and MAP-MRF model based algorithms on both noise-corrupted synthetic images and mosaics of natural texture. Our pilot results suggest that the proposed algorithm can segment images more accurately than other three methods and is capable of producing robust image segmentation.     

基于像素聚类的超声图像分割

B型心脏超声图像分割是计算心功能参数前重要的一步。针对超声图像的低分辨率影响分割精度及基于模型的分割算法需要大样本训练集的问题,结合B型心脏超声图像的先验知识,提出了一种基于像素聚类进行图像分割的算法。首先,通过各向异性扩散处理图像;然后,使用一维K-均值对像素进行聚类;最后,根据聚类结果和先验知识将像素值修改为最佳类中心像素值。理论分析表明该算法可以使图像的峰值信噪比（PSNR）达到最大值。实验结果表明：所提算法比大津算法等更准确,PSNR较大津算法提高11.5%;即使在单张图像上也可以进行分割,且适应于分割任意形状的超声图像,有利于更准确地计算各种心功能参数。     

空间约束层次加权Gamma混合模型的SAR图像分割

目的 合成孔径雷达（SAR）图像中像素强度统计分布呈现出复杂的特性,而传统混合模型难以建模非对称、重尾或多峰等特性的分布。为了准确建模SAR图像统计分布并得到高精度分割结果,本文提出一种利用空间约束层次加权Gamma混合模型（HWGaMM）的SAR图像分割算法。方法 采用Gamma分布的加权和定义混合组份;考虑到同质区域内像素强度的差异性和异质区域间像素强度的相似性,采用混合组份加权和定义HWGaMM结构。采用马尔可夫随机场（MRF）建模像素空间位置关系,利用中心像素及其邻域像素的后验概率定义混合权重以将像素邻域关系引入HWGaMM,构建空间约束HWGaMM,以降低SAR图像内固有斑点噪声的影响。提出算法结合M-H（Metropolis-Hastings）和期望最大化算法（EM）求解模型参数,以实现快速SAR图像分割。该求解方法避免了M-H算法效率低的缺陷,同时克服了EM算法难以求解Gamma分布中形状参数的问题。结果 采用3种传统混合模型分割算法作为对比算法进行分割实验。拟合直方图结果表明本文算法具有准确建模复杂统计分布的能力。在分割精度上,本文算法比基于高斯混合模型（GMM）、Gamma分布和Gamma混合模型（GaMM）分割算法分别提高33%,29%和9%。在分割时间上,本文算法虽然比GMM算法多64 s,但与基于Gamma分布和GaMM算法相比较分别快600 s和420 s。因此,本文算法比传统M-H算法的分割效率有很大的提高。结论 提出一种空间约束HWGaMM的SAR图像分割算法,实验结果表明提出的HWGaMM算法具有准确建模复杂统计分布的能力,且具有较高的精度和效率。     

An automatic fuzzy c-means algorithm for image segmentation

Fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm is one of the most popular methods for image segmentation. However, the standard FCM algorithm must be estimated by expertise users to determine the cluster number. So, we propose an automatic fuzzy clustering algorithm (AFCM) for automatically grouping the pixels of an image into different homogeneous regions when the number of clusters is not known beforehand. In order to get better segmentation quality, this paper presents an algorithm based on AFCM algorithm, called automatic modified fuzzy c-means cluster segmentation algorithm (AMFCM). AMFCM algorithm incorporates spatial information into the membership function for clustering. The spatial function is the weighted summation of the membership function in the neighborhood of each pixel under consideration. Experimental results show that AMFCM algorithm not only can spontaneously estimate the appropriate number of clusters but also can get better segmentation quality.     

Modeling and segmentation of noisy and textured images using gibbs random fields

This paper presents a new approach to the use of Gibbs distributions (GD) for modeling and segmentation of noisy and textured images. Specifically, the paper presents random field models for noisy and textured image data based upon a hierarchy of GD. It then presents dynamic programming based segmentation algorithms for noisy and textured images, considering a statistical maximum a posteriori (MAP) criterion. Due to computational concerns, however, sub-optimal versions of the algorithms are devised through simplifying approximations in the model. Since model parameters are needed for the segmentation algorithms, a new parameter estimation technique is developed for estimating the parameters in a GD. Finally, a number of examples are presented which show the usefulness of the Gibbsian model and the effectiveness of the segmentation algorithms and the parameter estimation procedures.     

几何距优化质心结合隶属度约束RFCM的脑MRI图像分割算法

针对现有图像分割算法聚类复杂以及分割精度不够高的问题,提出了基于几何距优化质心和粗糙模糊C-均值（RFCM）相结合的医学图像聚类分割算法。首先建立软集表示的像素集,并计算每个像素与质心之间的距离,然后基于像素和质心之间的最小距离,将像素分组到聚类中。为了将软集应用到粗糙模糊C-均值中,定义了一个模糊软集,进一步将输入图像转换为二值图像,通过计算连通区域的几何距选择适当的质心。最后利用这些新的质心计算更新像素的隶属度值,从而完成模糊聚类划分。在Allen Brain Atlas等三个医学数据库上评估了所提出混合算法的性能,获得的Jaccards系数和分割精度（SA）都优于几种对比算法。实验证明,提出的聚类分割算法具有良好的性能。     

基于Hadoop的超像素分割算法

针对高分辨率图像像素分割时间复杂度高的问题,提出了超像素分割算法。采用超像素代替原始的像素作为分割的处理基元,将Hadoop分布式的特点与超像素的分块相结合。在分片过程中提出了基于多任务的静态与动态结合的适应性算法,使得Hadoop分布式文件系统（HDFS）的分块与任务分发的基元解耦;在每一个Map节点任务中,基于超像素分块的边界性对超像素的形成在距离和梯度上进行约束,提出了基于分水岭的并行化分割算法。在Shuffle过程的超像素块间合并中提出了两种合并策略,并进行了比较。在Reduce节点任务中优化了超像素块内合并,完成最终的分割。实验结果表明.所提算法在边缘查全率（BR）和欠分割错误率（UR）等分割质量指标上优于简单线性迭代聚类（SLIC）算法和标准分割（Ncut）算法,在高分辨率图像的分割时间上有显著降低。     

基于MRF的复杂图像抠图

所谓复杂图像抠图就是从复杂图像中抠取出目标物体的一种图像处理算法。为了取得更好的抠图效果,提出了一种基于马尔可夫随机场的自然图像抠图方法。该方法首先手工把图像分成3个区域:前景区域、背景区域和未知区域;然后,再将未知区域用手工粗略地划分成几个相交的小区域;接着在每一个小区域内,以其中的未知区域的像素点为节点,定义抠图标号,同时在这些节点上面建立MRF抠图模型,并把这些标号赋给这些节点,这样抠图问题被定义为在这个MRF模型和它的Gibbs分布上MAP估计问题;继而再计算出每个小区域的掩像;最后把这些掩像合并,即得到输入图像最终的掩像。和其他算法相比,对复杂图像的抠图问题,该方法可以取得更好的抠图效果。     

基于模糊连接度的近邻传播聚类图像分割方法

针对现有近邻传播聚类图像分割方法分割精度低的问题,提出一种基于模糊连接度的邻近传播聚类(FCAP)图像分割算法。针对传统模糊连接度算法不能得出任意点对间模糊连接度的不足,结合最大生成树提出了全模糊连接度算法。FCAP算法先使用Normalized Cut超像素技术进行超像素分割,这些超像素可以看作数据点以及它们之间的模糊连接度;然后使用所提出的全模糊连接度算法计算超像素间的模糊连接度,根据模糊连接度和空间信息计算超像素的相似度;最后使用近邻传播(AP)聚类算法完成分割。实验结果表明,FCAP算法明显优于超像素处理后直接使用AP聚类算法进行分割的方法,并且优于无监督图像分割方法。     

基于邻域的多尺度模糊C-均值聚类图像分割

模糊C-均值(FCM)聚类是一种无监督聚类技术,广泛应用于图像分割。但它计算量偏大,且仅利用像素信息对像素进行聚类,而未使用空间分布信息。本文提出基于邻域信息的多尺度FCM聚类图像分割方法,该方法由小波分解得到图像多尺度框架,对框架顶层低分辨率图像的每个像素,用它的邻接像素引导它的聚类过程,来决定该像素的聚类,再由图像框架逐层对聚类分割进行细节修正。分割实验表明,该方法对比标准FCM分割,具有更好的抗噪性,且图像分割更均匀。     

模糊相关图割的非监督层次化彩色图像分割

目的 基于阈值的分割方法能根据像素的信息将图像划分为同类的区域,其中常用的最大模糊相关分割方法,因能利用模糊相关度量划分的适当性,得到较好的分割结果,而广受关注。然而该算法存在划分数需预先确定,阈值的分割结果存在孤立噪声,无法对彩色图像实施分割的问题。为此,提出基于模糊相关图割的非监督层次化分割策略来解决该问题。方法 算法首先将图像划分为若干超像素,以提高层次化图像分割的效率;随后将快速模糊相关算法与图割结合,构成模糊相关图割2-划分算子,在确保分割效率的基础上,解决单一阈值分割存在孤立噪声的问题;最后设计了自顶向下层次化分割策略,利用构建的2-划分算子选择合适的区域及通道,迭代地对超像素实施层次化分割,直到算法收敛,划分数自动确定。结果 对Berkeley分割数据库上300幅图像进行了测试,结果表明算法能有效分割彩色图像,分割精度优于Ncut、JSEG方法,运行时间较这两种方法也提高了近20%。结论 本文算法为最大模糊相关算法在非监督彩色图像分割领域的应用提供指导依据,能用于目标检测和识别领域。     

Image segmentation by probabilistic bottom-up aggregation and cue integration

We present a bottom-up aggregation approach to image segmentation. Beginning with an image, we execute a sequence of steps in which pixels are gradually merged to produce larger and larger regions. In each step, we consider pairs of adjacent regions and provide a probability measure to assess whether or not they should be included in the same segment. Our probabilistic formulation takes into account intensity and texture distributions in a local area around each region. It further incorporates priors based on the geometry of the regions. Finally, posteriors based on intensity and texture cues are combined using “a mixture of experts” formulation. This probabilistic approach is integrated into a graph coarsening scheme, providing a complete hierarchical segmentation of the image. The algorithm complexity is linear in the number of the image pixels and it requires almost no user-tuned parameters. In addition, we provide a novel evaluation scheme for image segmentation algorithms, attempting to avoid human semantic considerations that are out of scope for segmentation algorithms. Using this novel evaluation scheme, we test our method and provide a comparison to several existing segmentation algorithms.     

融入邻域作用的高斯混合分割模型及简化求解

目的 基于高斯混合模型（GMM）的图像分割方法易受噪声影响,为此采用马尔可夫随机场（MRF）将像素邻域关系引入GMM,提高算法抗噪性。针对融入邻域作用的高斯混合分割模型结构复杂、参数估计困难,难以获得全局最优分割解等问题,提出一种融入邻域作用的高斯混合分割模型及其简化求解方法。方法 首先,构建融入邻域作用的GMM。为了提高GMM的抗噪性,采用MRF建模混合模型权重系数的先验分布。然后,利用贝叶斯理论建立图像分割模型,即品质函数;由于品质函数中参数较多（包括权重系数,均值,协方差）、函数结构复杂,导致参数求解困难。因此,将品质函数中的均值和协方差定义为权重系数的函数,由此简化模型结构并方便其求解;虽然品质函数中仅包含参数权重系数,但结构比较复杂,难以求得参数的解析式。最后,采用非线性共轭梯度法（CGM）求解参数,该方法仅需利用品质函数值和参数梯度值,降低了参数求解的复杂性,并且收敛快,可以得到全局最优解。结果 为了有效而准确地验证提出的分割方法,分别采用本文算法和对比算法对合成图像和高分辨率遥感图像进行分割实验,并定性和定量地评价和分析了实验结果。实验结果表明本文方法的有效抗噪性,并得到很好的分割结果。从参数估计结果可以看出,本文算法有效简化了模型参数,并获得全局最优解。结论 提出一种融入邻域作用的高斯混合分割模型及其简化求解方法,实验结果表明,本文算法提高了算法的抗噪性,有效地简化了模型参数,并得到全局最优参数解。本文算法对具有噪声的高分辨率遥感影像广泛适用。