A multi-manifold discriminant analysis method for image feature extraction

In this paper, we propose a Multi-Manifold Discriminant Analysis (MMDA) method for an image feature extraction and pattern recognition based on graph embedded learning and under the Fisher discriminant analysis framework. In an MMDA, the within-class graph and between-class graph are, respectively, designed to characterize the within-class compactness and the between-class separability, seeking for the discriminant matrix to simultaneously maximize the between-class scatter and minimize the within-class scatter. In addition, in an MMDA, the within-class graph can represent the sub-manifold information, while the between-class graph can represent the multi-manifold information. The proposed MMDA is extensively examined by using the FERET, AR and ORL face databases, and the PolyU finger-knuckle-print databases. The experimental results demonstrate that an MMDA is effective in feature extraction, leading to promising image recognition performance.     

Adaptive application of feature detection operators based on image variance

It is well known that the strength of a feature in an image may depend on the scale at which the appropriate detection operator is applied. It is also the case that many features in images exist significantly over a limited range of scales, and, of particular interest here, that the most salient scale may vary spatially over the feature. Hence, when designing feature detection operators, it is necessary to consider the requirements for both the systematic development and adaptive application of such operators over scale- and image-domains. We present an overview to the design of scalable derivative edge detectors, based on the finite element method, that addresses the issues of method and scale-adaptability. The finite element approach allows us to formulate scalable image derivative operators that can be implemented using a combination of piecewise-polynomial and Gaussian basis functions. The general adaptive technique may be applied to a range of operators. Here we evaluate the approach using image gradient operators, and we present comparative qualitative and quantitative results for both first and second order derivative methods.     

Handwritten numeral recognition using gradient and curvature of gray scale image

In this paper, the authors study on the use of gradient and curvature of the gray scale character image to improve the accuracy of handwritten numeral recognition. Three procedures, based on curvature coefficient, bi-quadratic interpolation and gradient vector interpolation, are proposed for calculating the curvature of the equi-gray scale curves of an input image. Then two procedures to compose a feature vector of the gradient and the curvature are described. The efficiency of the feature vectors are tested by recognition experiments for the handwritten numeral database IPTP CDROM1 and NIST SD3 and SD7. The experimental results show the usefulness of the curvature feature and recognition rate of 99.49% and 98.25%, which are one of the highest rates ever reported for these databases (H. Kato et al., Technical Report of IEICE, PRU95-3, 1995, p. 17; R.A. Wilkinson et al., Technical Report NISTIR 4912, August 1992; J. Geist et al., Technical Report NISTIR 5452, June 1994), are achieved, respectively.     

Detection of locally relevant variables using SOM–NG algorithm

The SOM–NG algorithm is a combination of the Self-Organizing Map and the Neural Gas algorithms. It was developed to combine quantization and topological preservation. The algorithm also has a supervised version to create local linear models of scalar fields in the defined Voronoi regions. In this work a new methodology is proposed to use those models as data mining tools. Using visual tools, gradients are analysed to discover the influence of each variable over the output. It does not only allow to select the most relevant variables but also to detect different zones of influence, which can be used to create a set of fuzzy rules. The proposed methodology is proven to be useful to detect locally relevant variables that lead to a better understanding of the data.     

Content-adaptive feature extraction using image variance

The problem of scale is of fundamental interest in image processing, as the features that we visually perceive and find meaningful vary significantly depending on their size and extent. It is well known that the strength of a feature in an image may depend on the scale at which the appropriate detection operator is applied. It is also the case that many features in images exist significantly over a limited range of scales, and, of particular interest here, that the most salient scale may vary spatially over the feature. Hence, when designing feature detection operators, it is necessary to consider the requirements for both the systematic development and adaptive application of such operators over scale- and image-domains.

We present a new approach to the design of scalable derivative edge detectors, based on the finite element method, that addresses the issues of method and scale adaptability. The finite element approach allows us to formulate scalable image derivative operators that can be implemented using a combination of piecewise-polynomial and Gaussian basis functions. The issue of scale is addressed by partitioning the image in order to identify local key scales at which significant edge points may exist. This is achieved by consideration of empirically designed functions of local image variance.     

基于改进的尺度不变特征变换特征点匹配的电子稳像算法

针对传统尺度不变特征变换（SIFT）算法运算量大的问题,提出了一种改进的SIFT特征点匹配算法。首先介绍了SIFT特征向量的提取过程,并对算法进行了改进,在单尺度空间内提取目标的关键点,并形成34维特征向量,来代替传统SIFT算法生成的128维特征向量,使算法的实时性得到较大的提高,同时又保持了配准精度,最后将提出的改进SIFT特征应用于电子稳像中的全局运动估计中,并通过实验验证了算法的性能。     

安置元素测图对POS外方位元素的精度需求

基于POS辅助航空摄影测量直接对地目标定位理论,根据误差传播定律建立了物方坐标精度与影像外方位元素精度的关系模型,并从理论上分析了各种基本比例尺地形测图对影像外方位元素的精度需求。通过对摄自不同地区、多种摄影比例尺航摄影像的实验表明,由POS系统获取的影像外方位元素进行安置元素测图完全可以满足各种比例尺、不同地形图测绘的精度要求,但为了满足地物点的高程精度,对影像外方位元素的精度需求较用于平面测图时的至少要高出一倍以上。     

A collaborative representation based projections method for feature extraction

In graph embedding based methods, we usually need to manually choose the nearest neighbors and then compute the edge weights using the nearest neighbors via L2 norm (e.g. LLE). It is difficult and unstable to manually choose the nearest neighbors in high dimensional space. So how to automatically construct a graph is very important. In this paper, first, we give a L2-graph like L1-graph. L2-graph calculates the edge weights using the total samples, avoiding manually choosing the nearest neighbors; second, a L2-graph based feature extraction method is presented, called collaborative representation based projections (CRP). Like SPP, CRP aims to preserve the collaborative representation based reconstruction relationship of data. CRP utilizes a L2 norm graph to characterize the local compactness information. CRP maximizes the ratio between the total separability information and the local compactness information to seek the optimal projection matrix. CRP is much faster than SPP since CRP calculates the objective function with L2 norm while SPP calculate the objective function with L1 norm. Experimental results on FERET, AR, Yale face databases and the PolyU finger-knuckle-print database demonstrate that CRP works well in feature extraction and leads to a good recognition performance.     

基于逼近增强算子的合成孔径雷达图像特征提取算法

针对含噪SAR图像的边缘检测效果不理想、边缘特征不明显等问题,提出一种基于逼近增强算子的合成孔径雷达(SAR)图像特征提取算法.该算法利用多尺度非均匀滤波将含有噪声与不合噪声的像素点的灰度值、结构元素以及区域内的像素加权灰度密度这三个特征进行区分,以达到去噪效果.采用基于增强算子的SAR图像检测方法,通过SAR图像的像素灰度值以及像素点分布密度均值来计算综合均值阈值,通过阈值来判断像素点是否属于边缘部分.在实验中,通过分别与基于修改的LSD算法、基于水平集算法以及基于核心聚类算法的SAR图像提取方法进行了对比分析,从对比结果可以得出算法在对含噪SAR图像进行边缘检测时可以得到更明显的边缘信息.     

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.     

改进的Beamlet与Canny相结合提取复杂图像线特征

传统Beamlet无结构算法在提取图像线特征时不仅存在重叠模糊的缺陷,而且在提取复杂图像线特征时不能有效地检测出目标信息,细节特征更是难以刻画。针对这些问题,提出将改进的Beamlet无结构算法与Canny算子相结合的方法提取复杂图像的线特征。首先,对图像进行Beamlet变换,通过改进Beamlet无结构算法,采用新的能量统计和制定新的划线规则,以保证每个二进方块最多有一条最优基;然后,对图像用Canny算子检测边缘,通过选取较大的Sigma,只检测明显的大边缘;最后,两者结合得到图像的线特征。从检测的线特征的线型连接程度等方面对该算法的性能进行了评价,并与现有的方法进行了比较,实验结果表明,该方法克服了两种方法单独提取线特征时存在的断裂、重叠、模糊和虚假边缘的缺点,有效地提高了复杂图像线特征提取的准确性和连续性。     

Breast cancer diagnosis using genetic programming generated feature

This paper proposes a novel method for breast cancer diagnosis using the feature generated by genetic programming (GP). We developed a new feature extraction measure (modified Fisher linear discriminant analysis (MFLDA)) to overcome the limitation of Fisher criterion. GP as an evolutionary mechanism provides a training structure to generate features. A modified Fisher criterion is developed to help GP optimize features that allow pattern vectors belonging to different categories to distribute compactly and disjoint regions. First, the MFLDA is experimentally compared with some classical feature extraction methods (principal component analysis, Fisher linear discriminant analysis, alternative Fisher linear discriminant analysis). Second, the feature generated by GP based on the modified Fisher criterion is compared with the features generated by GP using Fisher criterion and an alternative Fisher criterion in terms of the classification performance. The classification is carried out by a simple classifier (minimum distance classifier). Finally, the same feature generated by GP is compared with a original feature set as the inputs to multi-layer perceptrons and support vector machine. Results demonstrate the capability of this method to transform information from high-dimensional feature space into one-dimensional space and automatically discover the relationship among data, to improve classification accuracy.     

Leukocyte image analysis in the diff3 system

The diff3 System uses image processing and pattern recognition techniques to automatically analyze normal and abnormal white blood cells in a blood smear. The system consists of a spinner which creates a monolayer of cells on a glass slide, a stainer utilizing Wright's stain, the reagents to support the spinner and stainer, and an analyzer for automatic slide handling, analysis and report generation. The analyzer incorporates a wide range of image processing functions, including the generation and storage of gray scale image data, whole-field and partial-field image histogramming, and high-order binary image texture analysis and image transformation using the Golay processor (GLOPR). This paper describes the manner in which these hardware capabilities are used for white cell acquisition, scene segmentation and feature analysis. It concludes with some examples of texture extraction which illustrate the power of the Golay processor as a tool for image analysis.     

图像平滑算子对边缘检测精度的影响

图像平滑算子的性能会直接影响到边缘检测的精度,并最终影响到边缘定位的精度,从而影响CCD摄像机的标定精度,所以通过实验对图像平滑算子和边缘检测算子进行了性能比较,可以看出中值滤波算子在保持良好的去噪性能基础上,与均值滤波相比能够很好地保持图像的边缘等细节,与图像间平均滤波相比能够节约时间、提高效率。与Canny算子相比,Sobel算子不但能够准确地检测出目标的边缘,而且具有很强的抗噪性,在检测直线边缘方面具有很强的优势,更加适合应用的需要。     

Orthogonal vs. uncorrelated least squares discriminant analysis for feature extraction

In this paper, a new discriminant analysis for feature extraction is derived from the perspective of least squares regression. To obtain great discriminative power between classes, all the data points in each class are expected to be regressed to a single vector, and the basic task is to find a transformation matrix such that the squared regression error is minimized. To this end, two least squares discriminant analysis methods are developed under the orthogonal or the uncorrelated constraint. We show that the orthogonal least squares discriminant analysis is an extension to the null space linear discriminant analysis, and the uncorrelated least squares discriminant analysis is exactly equivalent to the traditional linear discriminant analysis. Comparative experiments show that the orthogonal one is more preferable for real world applications.     

基于概率估计的Sobel算子医学图像边缘细化方法

针对存在大量噪声和目标边缘模糊的医学CT图像难以提取精确边缘的难点,提出边缘检测精确定位算法。该算法利用Sobel梯度图以及一阶微分期望阈值,从概率分布的方法进行定位估值,从而获得较高的定位精度。实验结果表明,本文算法比传统Sobel等算子对提取医学CT图像边缘更有效。