CH-4 COMPUTER VISION

Discuss the region-splitting method for image

segmentation in brief.

The region-splitting method is a top-down approach for image segmentation. It starts with
the entire image as a single region and recursively splits it into smaller regions based on
predefined criteria, such as differences in intensity, color, or texture.

The process involves:

1. Initial Region: The whole image is treated as a single region.

2. Splitting Criterion: The image is divided if a region does not meet a homogeneity
condition, such as uniformity in pixel intensity.

3. Recursive Splitting: The process continues for each subregion until all regions satisfy
the homogeneity condition.

This method helps in segmenting an image into meaningful regions based on similarity but
can be computationally expensive.

Explain the mean-shift technique for image segmentation

in detail.

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The mean-shift technique is a non-parametric clustering method used for image

segmentation, primarily to find modes (peaks) in the feature space, such as intensity or color.
It is a robust, iterative approach that does not require prior knowledge about the number of
clusters. Here’s a detailed explanation:

Steps in the Mean-Shift Technique:

1. Initial Setup:

An image is represented in a feature space, where each pixel is a point in the space
defined by features like color (RGB values), intensity, or texture.

A window or kernel (typically circular or Gaussian) is placed around each pixel, with
a specific radius (bandwidth) that defines the region of influence.

2. Iterative Process:

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 For each pixel, the mean of all the pixels within the window (kernel) is computed.
The mean is calculated based on the feature space (e.g., color, intensity).

The pixel is then moved to this mean position, shifting the kernel to the new
location.

3. Convergence:

This process is repeated iteratively. In each iteration, the window shifts toward the
region with the highest density of points in the feature space (the mode).

The process stops when the shift is smaller than a threshold, or after a set number
of iterations. This results in a "mode" of the feature space where each pixel has
moved toward its local peak.

4. Cluster Formation:

Once convergence is achieved, each pixel is assigned to the mode (or cluster) it
belongs to based on the final location of the mean.

Pixels with similar features (intensity, color, etc.) will converge to the same mode and
thus belong to the same region or segment.

Advantages:
Non-parametric: No need to define the number of segments in advance.

Adaptability: It can adapt to different shapes and densities of regions in the feature
space.

Flexibility: Works well with various features like color, texture, and intensity.

Disadvantages:
Computationally Expensive: It requires multiple iterations and computations for each
pixel, making it slow for large images.

Bandwidth Sensitivity: The choice of bandwidth (radius of the window) can significantly
affect the segmentation result. Small bandwidths may lead to over-segmentation, while
large bandwidths may cause under-segmentation.

In summary, the mean-shift technique is an iterative, density-based clustering method used

for segmenting images by shifting each pixel to the region of maximum density in the
feature space.

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 Explain image segmentation in brief. Also discuss various
approaches for image segmentation.

Image Segmentation (Brief Overview):

Image segmentation is the process of dividing an image into multiple regions or segments,
each of which is homogeneous in some sense (e.g., intensity, color, texture). The goal is to
simplify the representation of an image, making it easier to analyze and interpret.
Segmentation helps in identifying objects, boundaries, and structures within an image.

Approaches for Image Segmentation:

1. Thresholding:

A basic segmentation technique where pixels are classified into different groups
based on their intensity values.

Global Thresholding: A single threshold value is chosen for the entire image.

Adaptive Thresholding: Threshold values are calculated for smaller regions in the
image, adjusting to local variations.

2. Edge-Based Segmentation:

This approach detects boundaries or edges in the image, which correspond to

significant changes in pixel intensity.

Edge Detection: Techniques like the Sobel operator, Canny edge detector, or
Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) are used to identify edges.

Once edges are identified, regions are formed based on these boundaries.

3. Region-Based Segmentation:

This approach groups pixels with similar characteristics into regions.

Region Growing: Starts with a seed pixel and grows the region by adding
neighboring pixels that meet a similarity criterion.

Region Splitting and Merging: Initially splits the image into uniform regions and
then merges adjacent regions if they satisfy a homogeneity criterion.

4. Clustering-Based Segmentation:

Uses clustering algorithms to group similar pixels together based on their features
(e.g., color, texture).

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 K-means Clustering: Pixels are classified into a predefined number of clusters based
on their feature similarities.

Mean-Shift Clustering: An iterative, non-parametric technique that groups pixels

based on local density.

5. Graph-Based Segmentation:

The image is represented as a graph where pixels are nodes, and edges represent
the similarity between neighboring pixels.

Normalized Cuts: A method for partitioning a graph into segments by minimizing a

cost function based on similarity.

Graph Cuts: Cuts the graph into two disjoint sets to separate different regions in the
image.

6. Watershed Transform:

A mathematical morphology-based approach that treats the image as a topographic

surface, with pixels representing elevation.

The watershed algorithm "floods" the image, and regional minima are found to
form the segmented regions.

Commonly used in combination with edge detection methods to handle over-

segmentation.

7. Deep Learning-Based Segmentation:

Uses convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to learn features and patterns directly
from data for more complex and accurate segmentation tasks.

Fully Convolutional Networks (FCNs) and U-Net are popular architectures for
image segmentation, especially in medical imaging and other detailed tasks.

Summary:
Thresholding is simple but effective for binary segmentation.

Edge-based methods are good for detecting object boundaries.

Region-based techniques focus on grouping similar pixels into segments.

Clustering-based methods, such as K-means, partition the image based on feature

similarities.

Graph-based and watershed methods excel at handling complex segmentation tasks.

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 Deep learning approaches offer advanced, highly accurate segmentation by learning
features directly from images.

Each approach has its strengths and is chosen based on the specific requirements of the
segmentation task, such as the complexity of the image and the desired output.

What is image segmentation? Discuss various applications

of image segmentation.

Image Segmentation:
Image segmentation is the process of partitioning an image into multiple segments or
regions, each representing a different part of the image that has similar characteristics such
as color, intensity, or texture. The goal of segmentation is to simplify the representation of
the image or make it more meaningful and easier to analyze. It is a fundamental task in
computer vision, helping to identify objects, boundaries, and structures within an image.

Applications of Image Segmentation:

1. Medical Imaging:

Tumor Detection: Segmentation is widely used in identifying and isolating tumors

or abnormal growths in medical scans like MRI, CT, and X-ray images.

Organ Segmentation: It helps in segmenting organs such as the brain, liver, and
lungs in medical images, aiding diagnosis and treatment planning.

2. Object Recognition and Detection:

Autonomous Vehicles: In self-driving cars, image segmentation is used for

detecting and recognizing road signs, pedestrians, vehicles, and other objects to
navigate safely.

Facial Recognition: Segmentation is used to isolate facial features (eyes, nose,

mouth) from the background for recognition tasks.

3. Satellite and Aerial Imaging:

Land Use and Land Cover Classification: Satellite images are segmented to classify
different types of land cover, such as forests, water bodies, and urban areas.

Disaster Management: Segmentation is used to detect areas affected by natural

disasters like floods, fires, or earthquakes from aerial images for better response
and management.

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4. Agriculture:

Crop Monitoring: Image segmentation helps in detecting plant health, identifying

pests, and monitoring crop growth using drone or satellite imagery.

Weed Detection: Segmentation is used to distinguish weeds from crops in

agricultural fields, enabling precision farming.

5. Industrial Automation:

Quality Control: In manufacturing, segmentation is used to inspect and detect

defects in products, such as in automotive or electronics assembly lines.

Robot Vision: Segmentation helps robots understand their surroundings by

identifying different objects and parts for assembly or manipulation.

6. Scene Understanding and Image Editing:

Background Removal: In photography or video editing, segmentation is used to

separate the subject from the background for tasks like changing the background or
applying effects.

Augmented Reality (AR): Segmentation allows the overlay of virtual objects onto
real-world scenes, making interactions more immersive.

7. Biometrics:

Fingerprint and Iris Recognition: Segmentation helps in isolating features like

ridges in fingerprints or the iris in eye images for identity verification.

Signature Verification: Segmentation is used to isolate the signature’s key features

for verifying its authenticity.

8. Text Detection and Recognition:

Document Analysis: In OCR (Optical Character Recognition), segmentation helps in

isolating text from images, enabling the recognition of characters, lines, and
paragraphs.

License Plate Recognition: Segmentation aids in identifying the license plate area
from vehicle images for tasks like toll collection and surveillance.

9. Video Surveillance:

Intruder Detection: Image segmentation is used to detect moving objects or people

in video streams, helping identify intruders or suspicious activities in security
footage.

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 Tracking: Segmentation is crucial for tracking moving objects or people across
frames in surveillance video.

Summary:
Image segmentation plays a crucial role in various fields by isolating meaningful regions in
an image, facilitating easier analysis and understanding. Its applications span from medical
imaging and autonomous vehicles to industrial automation and video surveillance, making it
an essential tool in computer vision and related areas.

The Watershed Segmentation method is a powerful technique used in image segmentation,

primarily for separating distinct regions based on the intensity of pixels. It is inspired by the
concept of a "topographic surface" where higher intensity values represent higher
elevations.

Basic Concept:
In watershed segmentation, an image is treated as a topographic surface, with pixel intensity
values representing elevation. The goal is to "flood" the image, where regions (or catchment
basins) are formed around minima, and the boundaries between regions are defined by
"watershed lines."

Steps Involved:
1. Gradient Calculation:

The image’s gradient (or edge map) is calculated to identify the intensity changes,
which helps in finding boundaries.

A higher gradient indicates an edge or boundary between regions.

2. Flooding the Image:

Imagine the image being submerged in water, with water rising from regional
minima (dark areas in the gradient image).

As water rises, it fills the basins, and the flooding process continues until the water
from different basins meets at certain points.

3. Defining Watershed Lines:

The points where the waters from different basins meet are identified as watershed
lines (or boundaries).

These lines separate distinct regions in the image, creating segments.

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 4. Region Formation:

The regions bounded by watershed lines represent the segmented parts of the
image.

Key Features:
Marker-Based Watershed: This method can be improved by defining initial markers
(seed points) to guide the flooding process, reducing over-segmentation and improving
accuracy.

Over-Segmentation: In some cases, watershed can produce many small, incorrectly

segmented regions, especially in noisy images. Post-processing techniques, such as
merging adjacent regions, are often used to fix this.

Advantages:
Effective for segmenting regions based on intensity and gradient.

Can handle complex shapes and structures.

Disadvantages:
Sensitive to noise, leading to over-segmentation in low-quality images.

Computationally expensive for large images.

In summary, the watershed segmentation method uses the flooding principle to separate an
image into regions based on pixel intensity, making it a useful technique for detecting
boundaries and segmenting complex structures.

Discuss snake method for image segmentation with the

necessary equations.

The snake method (also known as active contour models) is a popular technique for image
segmentation, where an energy-minimizing curve (the "snake") is used to delineate the
boundary of an object in an image. The snake evolves through the image, driven by forces
that push it towards object boundaries while maintaining smoothness.

Concept:
The snake is an initial curve (polygonal or spline) that deforms iteratively to fit the boundary
of an object in the image. The deformation is controlled by an energy function, which is
minimized during the evolution process.

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Energy Function:
The energy function of a snake is composed of three terms:

1. Internal energy (forces that maintain smoothness),

2. External energy (forces that attract the snake to object boundaries),

3. Image energy (derived from image features like edges).

The total energy E of the snake is defined as:

E = Einternal + Eexternal + Eimage

​ ​ ​

1. Internal Energy (Einternal ): ​

Internal energy ensures that the snake remains smooth and can be modeled as a spring
system. It consists of two components:

Elasticity: Controls how much the snake resists bending.

Continuity: Controls how much the snake resists stretching.

The internal energy is given by:

2 2
(α ( ) ) ds
1
d2 X(s)
) (
dX(s)
Einternal = ∫ + β
ds2
​ ​ ​ ​

0 ds

Where:

X(s) is the position of the snake at arc length s,

α controls the stiffness of the snake (bending force),
β controls the elasticity (stretching force).

2. External Energy (Eexternal ): ​

External energy pulls the snake towards desired features, like object boundaries or regions
of interest in the image. It is derived from image features such as gradients or edges. A
common external energy term is related to the image gradient (the rate of intensity
change), which helps in identifying edges.
1
dX(s)
Eexternal = − ∫ ​ Fexternal ⋅​ ​ds
0 ds

Where Fexternal is the force derived from the image's gradient or other features like edges.
​

For example, it can be proportional to the negative gradient of the image:

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 Fexternal = ∇I(X)
​

Where I(X) is the image intensity at position X, and ∇I(X) is the gradient (edge
information) at that point.

3. Image Energy (Eimage ):

​

The image energy term can be a potential energy function derived from the image's intensity
values or edges. For example, it can be based on edge detection operators such as the
gradient magnitude or edge strength.

1
Eimage = ∫
2
​ ​ (λ ⋅ ∇I(X(s))) ds
0

Where:

λ is a weighting factor that adjusts the influence of the image energy term,
∇I(X(s)) is the gradient of the image at the point X(s).

Snake Evolution:
The snake evolves by minimizing the total energy function. This can be done by solving the
Euler-Lagrange equation or using numerical methods like the finite difference method.

The update rule for the snake is:

∂E
X(s, t + 1) = X(s, t) + Δt ⋅ (− )
∂X(s)
​

Where:

X(s, t) is the position of the snake at time t,

∂E
∂X(s)
​is the gradient of the total energy function with respect to the snake’s position,

Δt is the time step (or the iteration step).

Summary of Forces:
Internal forces: Encourage smoothness and continuity of the snake.

External forces: Pull the snake toward edges or other desired features.

Image forces: Help in detecting object boundaries by guiding the snake along edges or
image gradients.

Applications of Snake Method:

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 Object Boundary Detection: Detects the boundary of objects in images.

Medical Image Segmentation: Delineates organs, tumors, and other structures in

medical images.

Face Detection: Segments facial features for recognition.

Object Tracking: In video sequences, snakes can track moving objects by adapting to
changes in the image.

In summary, the snake method is an active contour model that uses an energy function
composed of internal, external, and image energies to guide a curve towards an object
boundary in an image, providing a powerful technique for image segmentation.

Write down the steps of Region Split and Merge.

Region Split and Merge Segmentation

Region Split and Merge is an image segmentation technique that works by recursively
dividing the image into smaller regions and then merging them based on homogeneity
criteria. The goal is to identify regions that are homogeneous and distinct from others.

Here are the steps involved in Region Split and Merge segmentation:

1. Initial Split (Recursive Splitting):

The entire image is initially treated as a single region.

The image is recursively divided into smaller sub-regions (quadrants, halves, etc.).

Each sub-region is checked for homogeneity based on a predefined criterion, such as

pixel intensity, texture, or color.

2. Region Homogeneity Check:

For each sub-region, a homogeneity test is performed. The criterion for homogeneity
can be:

Mean or Variance of pixel values within the region.

Texture similarity within the region.

If the region is homogeneous (i.e., meets the homogeneity criterion), it is accepted as a

valid region.

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 If the region is non-homogeneous, it is further split into smaller sub-regions, and the
splitting process continues.

3. Splitting Criteria:
The splitting continues recursively until all regions meet the homogeneity criterion or
until the region is small enough to be considered homogeneous by default.

This recursive division generates a quadtree structure (hierarchical structure of divided

regions) where each node represents a region and the leaves are the smallest
homogeneous regions.

4. Region Merging:
After splitting the image into homogeneous regions, the merging phase begins.

Adjacent regions that are homogeneous and have similar properties (such as pixel
values) are merged into a single region.

The merging is done by checking whether the boundaries of neighboring regions satisfy
the homogeneity criteria.

The merging process continues until no more merges are possible.

5. Termination:
The process terminates when no further splitting or merging is required, meaning that
the regions are both homogeneous and distinct from one another.

Summary of Steps:
1. Split the image into smaller sub-regions recursively.

2. Check for homogeneity in each sub-region.

3. If a sub-region is not homogeneous, split it further.

4. After the splitting phase, merge adjacent homogeneous regions.

5. Repeat merging until no more merges can be made.

6. Final regions represent distinct objects or areas in the image.

Key Concepts:
Recursive Splitting: Divide the image into smaller regions until each region satisfies the
homogeneity criterion.

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 Region Merging: Merge regions that are homogeneous and close to each other,
reducing over-segmentation.

Homogeneity Criterion: A predefined rule (e.g., pixel intensity, texture) used to decide
whether a region is uniform or needs further splitting/merging.

This method effectively segments an image by both splitting and merging based on the
consistency of the regions, making it suitable for detecting structures with distinct
boundaries in images.

Describe an Active Contour in brief.

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An Active Contour, also known as a snake, is a curve that is initialized near the boundary of
an object in an image and evolves iteratively to align itself with the true boundary of the
object. This technique is widely used in image segmentation to detect and outline object
boundaries in an image.

Key Characteristics of Active Contours:

1. Initial Curve: The process starts with an initial curve (or contour), often placed close to
the object boundary in the image.

2. Energy Minimization: The contour moves towards the object's boundary by minimizing
an energy function that combines forces from the image and the curve's smoothness.

3. Internal Forces: These forces help the contour remain smooth and resist bending or
stretching.

4. External Forces: These forces pull the contour towards edges or other significant
features (such as gradients) in the image, guiding it to the object boundary.

Energy Function:
The energy function E used to guide the active contour is composed of:

Internal Energy: Ensures that the contour remains smooth and well-behaved,
preventing excessive bending or stretching.

External Energy: Guides the contour to move towards edges or object boundaries,
usually derived from image gradients.

Evolution of the Active Contour:

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 The contour evolves by minimizing the total energy, typically using iterative optimization
methods.

At each step, the contour is adjusted to reduce both internal and external energy,
eventually settling on the true object boundary.

Applications:
Object Detection: To find the boundaries of objects in an image.

Medical Image Segmentation: To delineate structures like organs or tumors.

Face Detection and Tracking: To detect and track facial features.

In summary, an active contour (snake) is a curve that deforms to fit the shape of an object
boundary by minimizing an energy function, making it a powerful tool for image
segmentation and boundary detection.

Discuss region splitting & region merging image

segmentation method in brief.

Region Splitting and Merging is a region-based image segmentation technique that divides
an image into homogeneous regions and then merges them based on specific criteria. This
method aims to segment an image by first splitting it into smaller regions and then merging
adjacent regions to form larger, homogeneous areas.

Steps Involved:
1. Initial Split:

The entire image is treated as one large region.

The image is recursively divided into smaller sub-regions (often using a quadtree
structure).

This division continues until each sub-region meets a certain homogeneity criterion
(e.g., pixel intensity, color, texture).

2. Homogeneity Check:

After splitting, each sub-region is tested for homogeneity based on a predefined

criterion, such as pixel intensity or texture.

If a region is homogeneous (similar in terms of pixel values or other features), it

remains as is.

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 If a region is not homogeneous, it is further split into smaller regions until they are
homogeneous.

3. Region Merging:

After the image has been split into small homogeneous regions, the next step is
merging.

Adjacent regions are merged if they are found to be similar enough (i.e., meet the
homogeneity criteria).

The merging process continues iteratively, combining small regions into larger,
homogeneous regions.

4. Termination:

The process of splitting and merging continues until no further changes are needed,
i.e., the image is divided into distinct, non-overlapping regions that are
homogeneous.

Advantages:
Adaptive segmentation: The method adapts to the structure of the image by splitting
and merging regions based on local image properties.

Flexible: Can work with different types of homogeneity criteria (color, intensity, texture).

Disadvantages:
Over-segmentation: If the homogeneity criterion is too strict, the image might be split
into many small regions.

Computationally expensive: Recursive splitting and merging can be computationally

intensive, especially for large images.

Summary:
Region Splitting: Divides the image into smaller sub-regions based on a homogeneity
criterion.

Region Merging: Merges adjacent homogeneous regions to form larger, meaningful

segments.

This method is useful in scenarios where image objects have distinct boundaries and
uniform characteristics.

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 Explain graph-based segmentation in brief.

Graph-based segmentation is an image segmentation technique that represents an image

as a graph, where each pixel (or group of pixels) is treated as a node, and edges represent
the similarity between neighboring pixels. The goal of graph-based segmentation is to
partition the graph into meaningful regions by cutting the graph in such a way that regions
of high similarity are kept together.

Key Concepts of Graph-Based Segmentation:

1. Graph Representation:

Nodes: Each pixel (or superpixel) in the image is represented as a node in the graph.

Edges: An edge between two nodes represents the similarity (or dissimilarity)
between the corresponding pixels. The weight of the edge can be determined based
on the pixel intensity difference, color similarity, texture, or other features.

2. Edge Weights:

The weight of an edge between two nodes reflects the dissimilarity between the
pixels they represent. A high weight suggests the pixels are very similar, while a low
weight indicates dissimilarity.

A common weight function is the Gaussian similarity function based on pixel

intensity difference:

∥I(i) − I(j)∥2
W (i, j) = exp (− )
2σ 2
​

where I(i) and I(j) are the pixel values (or features) at nodes i and j , and σ
controls the sensitivity of the similarity measure.

3. Graph Cut:

The segmentation is achieved by partitioning the graph into different segments or

clusters using a graph cut. The goal is to minimize the cost of cutting the graph
while ensuring that the resulting segments are as homogeneous as possible.

Minimum cut algorithms (like the normalized cut or min-cut/max-flow algorithms)

are used to find an optimal partition of the graph.

4. Normalized Cut:

One popular approach is the normalized cut (Ncut), which aims to minimize the
dissimilarity between different segments while maximizing the similarity within each

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 segment:

Cut(A, B) Cut(A, B)
Ncut(A, B) = +
Assoc(A, V ) Assoc(B, V )
​ ​

where:

Cut(A, B) is the total weight of the edges between the two segments A and B
,

Assoc(A, V ) and Assoc(B, V ) are the total edge weights connecting each
segment to the rest of the graph.

5. Segmentation Result:

The graph is segmented based on the minimum cut, where each segment
corresponds to a group of pixels (nodes) that are similar to each other.

Advantages:
Effective for complex images: It works well on images with complex structures and
boundaries.

Flexibility: Can use various image features like color, texture, and spatial information.

Global information: Unlike region-growing methods, graph-based segmentation takes

into account global image features.

Disadvantages:
Computationally expensive: The graph-based approach can be computationally
expensive, especially for large images.

Parameter tuning: The method often requires careful tuning of parameters (like σ ) for
good segmentation results.

Applications:
Object Recognition: Helps in identifying and segmenting objects in images.

Medical Imaging: Used for segmenting regions like tumors or organs in medical
images.

Image Editing: Used in image processing tools for region-based manipulation or

modification.

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Summary:
In graph-based segmentation, the image is modeled as a graph, and a segmentation is
achieved by partitioning the graph based on pixel similarity, often using graph cut
algorithms. It is an effective technique for obtaining accurate, meaningful image segments,
especially in images with complex structures.

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