On Symmetry, Perspectivity, and Level-Set-Based Segmentation

We introduce a novel variational method for the extraction of objects with either bilateral or rotational symmetry in the presence of perspective distortion. Information on the symmetry axis of the object and the distorting transformation is obtained as a by--product of the segmentation process. The key idea is the use of a flip or a rotation of the image to segment as if it were another view of the object. We call this generated image the symmetrical counterpart image. We show that the symmetrical counterpart image and the source image are related by planar projective homography. This homography is determined by the unknown planar projective transformation that distorts the object symmetry. The proposed segmentation method uses a level-set-based curve evolution technique. The extraction of the object boundaries is based on the symmetry constraint and the image data. The symmetrical counterpart of the evolving level-set function provides a dynamic shape prior. It supports the segmentation by resolving possible ambiguities due to noise, clutter, occlusions, and assimilation with the background. The homography that aligns the symmetrical counterpart to the source level-set is recovered via a registration process carried out concurrently with the segmentation. Promising segmentation results of various images of approximately symmetrical objects are shown.     

Dynamic learning from multiple examples for semantic object segmentation and search

We present a novel “dynamic learning” approach for an intelligent image database system to automatically improve object segmentation and labeling without user intervention, as new examples become available, for object-based indexing. The proposed approach is an extension of our earlier work on “learning by example,” which addressed labeling of similar objects in a set of database images based on a single example. The proposed dynamic learning procedure utilizes multiple example object templates to improve the accuracy of existing object segmentations and labels. Multiple example templates may be images of the same object from different viewing angles, or images of related objects. This paper also introduces a new shape similarity metric called normalized area of symmetric differences (NASD), which has desired properties for use in the proposed “dynamic learning” scheme, and is more robust against boundary noise that results from automatic image segmentation. Performance of the dynamic learning procedures has been demonstrated by experimental results.     

地物提取的多尺度特征遥感应用分析

通过空间尺度效应分析,阐述不同属性景观地物在同一分辨率或同一尺度影像中提取的不合理性。为获得精确的地表信息,提出多尺度遥感影像分析方法,解决不同地物在不同空间尺度影像数据中提取的难题。通过多种分辨率影像的多尺度影像信息提取的应用实践,分析地物提取中的多尺度特性、尺度与分辨率关系等。     

SimLocator: robust locator of similar objects in images

Similar objects commonly appear in natural images, and locating and cutting out these objects can be tedious when using classical interactive image segmentation methods. In this paper, we propose SimLocator, a robust method oriented to locate and cut out similar objects with minimum user interaction. After extracting an arbitrary object template from the input image, candidate locations of similar objects are roughly detected by distinguishing the shape and color features of each image. A novel optimization method is then introduced to select accurate locations from the two sets of candidates. Additionally, a matting-based method is used to improve the results and to ensure that all similar objects are located in the image. Finally, a method based on alpha matting is utilized to extract the precise object contours. To ensure the performance of the matting operation, this work has developed a new method for foreground extraction. Experiments show that SimLocator is more robust and more convenient to use compared to other more advanced repetition detection and interactive image segmentation methods, in terms of locating similar objects in images.     

多视点图像的前景对象自动分割方法

为了将前景对象从多视点图像中自动地分割出来,提出一种基于多视点图像特征分析的对象提取方法.首先采用改进的随机Hough变换提取极线平面图中的直线,并对已检测直线的斜率进行统计分析;然后根据对象在场景中所处的深度,将对应斜率的直线转换到原始图像空间中得到初始轮廓;并利用边缘生长方法缩短断开边缘的间距;最后采用边缘连接方法获得闭合的轮廓曲线.实验结果表明,与基于水平集的主动轮廓模型分割方法相比,文中方法能更加快速、精确地将对象从复杂场景中分割出来.     

基于水动力学、分数阶微分及Steger算法的线状目标提取

目的 线状目标的检测具有非常广泛的应用领域,如车道线、道路及裂缝的检测等,而裂缝是其中最难检测的线状目标。为避免直接提取线状目标时图像分割难的问题,以裂缝和车道线为例,提出了一种新的跟踪线状目标中线的算法。方法 对图像进行高斯平滑,用一种新的分数阶微分模板增强图像中的模糊及微细线状目标;基于Steger算法提出一种提取线状目标中心线特征点的算法,避免了提取整体目标的困难;根据水动力学思想将裂隙看成溪流,通过最大熵阈值处理后,先进行特征点的连接,再基于线段之间的距离及夹角进行线段之间的连接（溪流之间的融合）。结果 对300幅裂缝图像及4种类别的其他线状目标图像进行试验,并与距离变换、最大熵阈值法+细线化Otsu阈值分割+细线化、谷底边界检测等类似算法进行比较分析,本文算法检测出的线状目标的连续性好、漏检（大间隙少）和误检（毛刺及多余线段少）率均较低。结论 本文算法能够在复杂的线状目标图像中准确快速地提取目标的中心线,一定程度上改善了复杂线状目标图像分割难的问题。     

基于视差和阈值分割的立体视频对象提取

视频对象分割和提取是编码、通信以及视频检索等基于内容视频处理中的关键问题，为了从只有单一全局运动、含有重叠多对象的立体视频序列中提取对象，提出了一种基于视差分析和阈值分割的对象提取方法。该方法首先用改进的区域匹配法进行立体视差估计，并通过合理减少匹配窗的运算量及根据视差特性设定搜索路径来加快匹配速度；然后针对图像中不同的对象分别采用迭代阈值法和自适应阈值法进行二次分割；最后从阈值分割结果中提取出各个对象。实验提取出的各深度层视频对象效果良好，表明该方法是一种有效的适用于全局运动的立体视频序列对象提取方法。     

High-resolution SAR images segmentation using NSCT denoising and QIGA based parameters selection of PCNN model

The high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images usually contain inhomogeneous coherent speckle noises. For the high-resolution SAR image segmentation with such noises, the conventional methods based on pulse coupled neural networks (PCNN) have to face heavy parameters with a low efficiency. In order to solve the problems, this paper proposes a novel SAR image segmentation algorithm based on non-subsampling Contourlet transform (NSCT) denoising and quantum immune genetic algorithm (QIGA) improved PCNN models. The proposed method first denoising the SAR images for a pre-processing based on NSCT. Then, by using the QIGA to select parameters for the PCNN models, such models self-adaptively select the suitable parameters for segmentation of SAR images with different scenes. This method decreases the number of parameters in the PCNN models and improves the efficiency of PCNN models. At last, by using the optimal threshold to binary the segmented SAR images, the small objects and large scales from the original SAR images will be segmented. To validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, four different comparable experiments are applied to validate the proposed algorithm. Experimental results have shown that NSCT pre-processing has a better performance for coherent speckle noises suppression, and QIGA-PCNN model based on denoised SAR images has an obvious segmentation performance improvement on region consistency and region contrast than state-of-the-arts methods. Besides, the segmentation efficiency is also improved than conventional PCNN model, and the level of time complexity meets the state-of-the-arts methods. Our proposed NSCT+QIGA-PCNN model can be used for small object segmentation and large scale segmentation in high-resolution SAR images. The segmented results will be further used for object classification and recognition, regions of interest extraction, and moving object detection and tracking.

     

An efficient method for segmentation of images based on fractional calculus and natural selection

Image segmentation has been widely used in document image analysis for extraction of printed characters, map processing in order to find lines, legends, and characters, topological features extraction for extraction of geographical information, and quality inspection of materials where defective parts must be delineated among many other applications. In image analysis, the efficient segmentation of images into meaningful objects is important for classification and object recognition. This paper presents two novel methods for segmentation of images based on the Fractional-Order Darwinian Particle Swarm Optimization (FODPSO) and Darwinian Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) for determining the n-1 optimal n-level threshold on a given image. The efficiency of the proposed methods is compared with other well-known thresholding segmentation methods. Experimental results show that the proposed methods perform better than other methods when considering a number of different measures.     

融合区域和边缘特征的水平集水下图像分割

目的 水平集模型是图像分割中的一种先进方法,在陆地环境图像分割中展现出较好效果。特征融合策略被广泛引入到该模型框架,以拉伸目标-背景对比度,进而提高对高噪声、杂乱纹理等多类复杂图像的处理性能。然而,在水下环境中,由于水体高散射、强衰减等多因素的共同作用,使得现有图像特征及水平集模型难以适用于对水下图像的分割任务,分割结果与目标形态间存在较大差异。鉴于此,提出一种适用于水下图像分割的区域-边缘水平集模型,以提高水下图像目标分割的准确性。方法 综合应用图像的区域特征及边缘特征对水下目标进行辨识。对于区域特征,引入水下图像显著性特征;对于边缘特征,创新性地提出了一种基于深度信息的边缘特征提取方法。所提方法在融合区域级和边缘级特征的基础上,引入距离正则项对水平集函数进行规范,以增强水平集函数演化的稳定性。结果 基于YouTube和Bubblevision的水下数据集的实验结果表明,所提方法不仅对高散射强衰减的低对比度水下图像实现较好的分割效果,同时对处理强背景噪声图像也有较好的鲁棒性,与水平集分割方法（local pre-fitting,LPF）相比,分割精确度至少提高11.5%,与显著性检测方法（hierarchical co-salient detection via color names,HCN）相比,精确度提高6.7%左右。结论 实验表明区域-边缘特征融合以及其基础上的水平集模型能够较好地克服水下图像分割中的部分难点,所提方法能够较好分割水下目标区域并拟合目标轮廓,与现有方法对比获得了较好的分割结果。     

基于深度特征融合的图像语义分割

在图像语义分割中使用卷积网络进行特征提取时,由于最大池化和下采样操作的重复组合引起了特征分辨率降低,从而导致上下文信息丢失,使得分割结果失去对目标位置的敏感性。虽然基于编码器-解码器架构的网络通过跳跃连接在恢复分辨率的过程中逐渐细化了输出精度,但其将相邻特征简单求和的操作忽略了特征之间的差异性,容易导致目标局部误识别等问题。为此,文中提出了基于深度特征融合的图像语义分割方法。该方法采用多组全卷积VGG16模型并联组合的网络结构,结合空洞卷积并行高效地处理金字塔中的多尺度图像,提取了多个层级的上下文特征,并通过自顶向下的方法逐层融合,最大限度地捕获上下文信息;同时,以改进损失函数而得到的逐层标签监督策略为辅助支撑,联合后端像素建模的全连接条件随机场,无论是在模型训练的难易程度还是预测输出的精度方面都有一定的优化。实验数据表明,通过对表征不同尺度上下文信息的各层深度特征进行逐层融合,图像语义分割算法在目标对象的分类和空间细节的定位方面都有所提升。在PASCAL VOC 2012和PASCAL CONTEXT两个数据集上获得的实验结果显示,所提方法分别取得了80.5%和45.93%的mIoU准确率。实验数据充分说明,并联框架中的深度特征提取、特征逐层融合和逐层标签监督策略能够联合优化算法架构。特征对比表明,该模型能够捕获丰富的上下文信息,得到更加精细的图像语义特征,较同类方法具有明显的优势。     

A multi-plane approach for text segmentation of complex document images

This study presents a new method, namely the multi-plane segmentation approach, for segmenting and extracting textual objects from various real-life complex document images. The proposed multi-plane segmentation approach first decomposes the document image into distinct object planes to extract and separate homogeneous objects including textual regions of interest, non-text objects such as graphics and pictures, and background textures. This process consists of two stages—localized histogram multilevel thresholding and multi-plane region matching and assembling. Then a text extraction procedure is applied on the resultant planes to detect and extract textual objects with different characteristics in the respective planes. The proposed approach processes document images regionally and adaptively according to their respective local features. Hence detailed characteristics of the extracted textual objects, particularly small characters with thin strokes, as well as gradational illuminations of characters, can be well-preserved. Moreover, this way also allows background objects with uneven, gradational, and sharp variations in contrast, illumination, and texture to be handled easily and well. Experimental results on real-life complex document images demonstrate that the proposed approach is effective in extracting textual objects with various illuminations, sizes, and font styles from various types of complex document images.     

基于覆盖分割和活动轮廓模型的图像边缘提取算法

针对传统算法对边界模糊的图像分割效果不理想,分割结果多毛刺的问题,提出了一种由粗到细的图像边缘提取方法,主要由像素覆盖分割方法和Chan-Vese模型组成。将改进的覆盖分割方法和活动轮廓模型相结合,首先使用原始覆盖分割算法对图像进行分割,利用多方向模糊形态学边缘检测算法提取不同物体之间的边界;然后采用改进的像素覆盖分割方法给边界像素重新分配覆盖值;最后,运用活动轮廓算法进行细化的图像边界提取;分别进行了分割结果的定性比较,抗噪性测试以及提取的边缘对比实验。实验结果表明,该方法对具有模糊边界的图像,提取边缘结果优于其他可比文献中提出的方法。     

融合显著物体检测的图像显示适配

目的 图像显著适配旨在自动调节图像尺寸,对图像内容进行非均匀缩放,以便在受限的展示空间内更好地保留显著物体。为了解决显示适配过程中显著物体部分扭曲的问题,提出一种基于显著物体检测的图像显示适配方法。方法 本文方法采用显著物体分割结果来替代显著性图,以改进显示适配结果。首先,采用显著性融合和传播的方法生成显著性图;接着,结合输入图像和显著性图,采用自适应三阈值方法实现显著物体分割;然后,以此为基础,生成输入图像的曲边网格表示;最后,通过对不同网格的非均匀缩放,生成符合目标尺寸的适配结果。结果 在面向图像显示适配的公开数据集RetargetMe上,将本文方法与现有的10种代表性显示适配方法的结果进行了人工评估和比较。本文方法可以有效地减少显著物体出现部分扭曲的现象,能在48.8%的图像上取得无明显缺陷的适配效果,比现有最好的方法提高了5%。结论 基于显著物体检测的图像显示适配方法有助于提高显示适配过程中对显著物体处理的一致性,减少由于显著物体部分扭曲而引起的明显人工处理痕迹,从而达到提升显示适配效果的目的。     

A novel method for assessing the segmentation quality of high-spatial resolution remote-sensing images

Image segmentation quality significantly affects subsequent image classification accuracy. It is necessary to develop effective methods for assessing image segmentation quality. In this paper, we present a novel method for assessing the segmentation quality of high-spatial resolution remote-sensing images by measuring both area and position discrepancies between the delineated image region (DIR) and the actual image region (AIR) of a scene object. In comparison with the most frequently used area coincidence-based methods, our method can assess the segmentation quality more objectively in that it takes into consideration all image objects intersecting with the AIR of a scene object. Moreover, the proposed method is more convenient to use than the existing boundary coincidence-based methods in that the calculation of the distance between the boundary of the image object and that of the corresponding AIR of the scene object is not required. Another benefit of this method over the two types of method above is that the assessment procedure of the segmentation quality can be conducted with less human intervention. The obtained optimal segmentation result can ensure maximal delineation of the extent of scene objects and can be beneficial to subsequent classification operations. The experimental results have shown the effectiveness of this new method for both segmentation quality assessment and optimal segmentation parameter selection.     

Rapid,man-made object morphological segmentation for aerial images using a multi-scaled,geometric image analysis

This paper describes a man-made object segmentation method for aerial images based on a modified watershed segmentation algorithm. Our segmentation procedure includes three steps: (1) a multi-scaled geometric image analysis of aerial images by the non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) method, (2) watershed segmentation, and (3) region classification of man-made objects. First, background of multi-scaled geometric image analysis is introduced briefly, and NSCT is used to represent the features for the purpose of man-made object segmentation. Thanks to the properties of NSCT, it not only avoids pseudo-Gibbs phenomena around singularities in image de-noising with regard to shift invariance, but it also enriches the set of basis functions, which makes it possible to extract orientational contour of man-made objects more effectively. In the NSCT decomposition step, the best basis selection is employed for ensuring maximum information content. Second, the “texture gradient” of combined features is calculated based on the first NSCT decomposition step and the resulting best basis selection, afterward the watershed transform is applied. According to their feature values, the aerial images are divided into several homogenous regions. Third, the fractional Brownian motion (fBm) model is used to determine the man-made object regions. Last, the experimental results show that the outcome of man-made object segmentation becomes more continuous and satisfying as a result of the homogenous texture-regions extraction and the modified watershed procedure.     

Weakly-supervised object localization in unlabeled image collection

Fully annotated image dataset is required for supervised learning. However, the image labeling process is laborious and monotonous. In this paper, we focus on automatic image labeling for a class-specified image dataset. We propose a weakly supervised approach to localize objects in a class of unlabelled images without using any manually labeled examples. Firstly, an image is segmented based on a multiple segmentation algorithm. Secondly, the segmented regions are mined based on the commonality and saliency to discovery the category pattern in the image. Thirdly, objects are localized based on the weakly supervised learning algorithm. To prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach, we experimentally evaluate the performance of our approach on 12 object classes of the Caltech101 dataset and 2 landmark classes collected from the Internet. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach is effective and accurate to automatically label images.     

An Improved Method for Object Extracting based on Context Information Using Multisouce Data

This paper proposed a new method which combines the airborne LiDAR data with aerial image to extract Rolling Stones on mountainous.Firstly,the aerial image is processed with multi-scale segmentation to get segmentation objects,and the LiDAR data are processed by classification,interpolation,difference for elevation information.Then compute the segmentation object based on visible-band difference vegetation index to remove the interference of vegetation information,and the nonvegetated segmentation objects are obtained.In order to effectively use the shadow,this paper put forward the normalized difference shadow index and use threshold segmentation to get shadow object.And then the automatic extraction algorithm based on the shadow and elevation information is used to preliminary obtain the rolling stones information.Finally,The height threshold filtering is set according to the actual demand to get the final rolling information.This paper took a certain area of Hong Kong aviation image and LiDAR data as experimental data to validate the proposed method.The results show that the method can well extract the Rolling Stones and effectivly distinguish the exposed bedrock,roads and similar spectral information of ground objects as Rolling Stones.The extraction accuracy of Rolling Stones is above 88% which basically satisfies the needs of rockfall in lands department.     

Adaptive image segmentation for region-based object retrieval using generalized Hough transform

Finding an object inside a target image by querying multimedia data is desirable, but remains a challenge. The effectiveness of region-based representation for content-based image retrieval is extensively studied in the literature. One common weakness of region-based approaches is that perform detection using low level visual features within the region and the homogeneous image regions have little correspondence to the semantic objects. Thus, the retrieval results are often far from satisfactory. In addition, the performance is significantly affected by consistency in the segmented regions of the target object from the query and database images. Instead of solving these problems independently, this paper proposes region-based object retrieval using the generalized Hough transform (GHT) and adaptive image segmentation. The proposed approach has two phases. First, a learning phase identifies and stores stable parameters for segmenting each database image. In the retrieval phase, the adaptive image segmentation process is also performed to segment a query image into regions for retrieving visual objects inside database images through the GHT with a modified voting scheme to locate the target visual object under a certain affine transformation. The learned parameters make the segmentation results of query and database images more stable and consistent. Computer simulation results show that the proposed method gives good performance in terms of retrieval accuracy, robustness, and execution speed.     

Near-duplicate document image matching: A graphical perspective

A near-duplicate document image matching approach characterized by a graphical perspective is proposed in this paper. Document images are represented by graphs whose nodes correspond to the objects in the images. Consequently, the image matching problem is then converted to graph matching. To deal with the instability of object segmentation, a multi-granularity object tree is constructed for a document image. Each level in the tree corresponds to one possible object segmentation, while different levels are characterized by various object granularities. Some graphs can be generated from the tree and the objects associated with each graph may be of different granularities. Two graphs with the maximum similarity are found from the multi-granularity object trees of the two near-duplicate document images which are to be matched. The encouraging experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach.