[...]... and type of objects contained in a figure like Fig 2.1 As long as we continue Figure 2.1 Binary image with nine objects Each object corresponds to a connnected region of related foreground pixels W Burger, M.J Burge, Principles of Digital Image Processing, Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science, DOI 10.1007/97 8-1 -8 480 0-1 9 5-4 _2, © Springer-Verlag London Limited, 2009 6 2 Regions in Binary Images to... biological systems are able to perform So, it is perhaps humbling to discover W Burger, M.J Burge, Principles of Digital Image Processing, Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science, DOI 10.1007/97 8-1 -8 480 0-1 9 5-4 _1, © Springer-Verlag London Limited, 2009 2 1 Introduction that today’s technology is nowhere near as capable, when it comes to image analysis, as our own visual system Although it is possible that this... editing”, we introduce the following more precise definitions Digital image editing, or, as it is sometimes referred to, digital imaging, is the manipulation of digital images using an existing software application such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Digital image processing, on the other hand, is the conception, design, development, and enhancement of digital imaging programs Modern programming environments,... reconstruction of 3D models from image data, and specialized techniques such as image- based and nonphotorealistic rendering [57, 78] Similarly, image processing makes use of a number of ideas that have their origin in computational geometry and computer graphics, such as volumetric (voxel) models in medical image processing The two fields perhaps work closest when it comes to digital postproduction of film and... problems and the real possibility of expanding the horizons of science 2 Regions in Binary Images In binary images, a pixel can take on exactly one of two values These values are often thought of as representing the “foreground” and “background” in the image, even though these concepts often are not applicable to natural scenes In this chapter we focus on connected regions in images and how to isolate and... contrast to digital image processing, concentrates on the synthesis of digital images from geometrical descriptions such as threedimensional object models [22, 27, 77] Although graphics professionals today tend to be interested in topics such as realism and, especially in terms of computer games, rendering speed, the field does draw on a number of methods that originate in image processing, such as image. .. maximum of 28,822 elements, while the queue used by the breadthfirst variant never exceeds a maximum of 438 nodes 2.1 Finding Image Regions depth-first 11 breadth-first (a) K = 1.000 (b) K = 5.000 (c) K = 10.000 Figure 2.2 Iterative flood filling—comparison between the depth-first and breadth-first approach The starting point, marked + in the top two image (a), was arbitrarily chosen Intermediate results of the... RelabelImage(I, R) return I see Alg 2.4 see Alg 2.4 6: AssignInitialLabels(I) Performs a preliminary labeling on image I (which is modified) Returns the number of assigned labels (m) and the set of detected label collisions (C) 20: 21: Initialize m ← 2 (the value of the next label to be assigned) C ← {} empty set of collisions for v ← 0 H − 1 do H = height of image I for u ← 0 W − 1 do W = width of image. .. (that is, until it reaches the edge of the region) and only then examines the remaining directions In contrast the breadth-first method markings proceed outward, layer by layer, equally in all directions Due to the way exploration takes place, the memory requirement of the breadth-first variant of the flood-fill version is generally much lower than that of the depth-first variant For example, when flood... Today, IT professionals must be more than simply familiar with digital image processing They are expected to be able to knowledgeably manipulate images and related digital media and, in the same way, software engineers and computer scientists are increasingly confronted with developing programs, databases, and related systems that must correctly deal with digital images The simple lack of practical . worked solutions. Wilhelm Burger • Mark J. Burge Principles of Digital Image Processing Core Algorithms 123 Wilhelm Burger Mark J. Burge University of Applied Sciences noblis.org Austria mburge@acm.org wilbur@ieee.org Series. Kong Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science ISSN 186 3-7 310 ISBN 97 8-1 -8 480 0-1 9 4-7 e-ISBN 97 8-1 -8 480 0-1 9 5-4 DOI 10.1007/97 8-1 -8 480 0-1 9 5-4 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue. humbling to discover W. Burger, M .J. Burge, Principles of Digital Image Processing, Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science, DOI 10.1007/97 8-1 -8 480 0-1 9 5-4 _1, Springer-Verlag London Limited,