Image Segmentation
Dr. A S Jalal
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Image Aquisition
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Image Enhancement
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Image Restoration
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Morphological Processing
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Segmentation
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Object Recognition
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Representation & Description
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Image Compression
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Key Stages in Digital Image Processing:
Colour Image Processing
Image Morphological
Restoration Processing
Image
Segmentation
Enhancement
Image Object
Acquisition Recognition
Representation &
Problem Domain
Description
Colour Image Image
Processing Compression
Image Segmentation
Image enhancement & restoration
Digital Image
Digital Image (of improved
quality)
Image Processing
Techniques
(enhancement &
restoration)
Image segmentation
Attributes
Digital Image extracted from
that image
Image Analysis
Techniques
(segmentation)
The Segmentation Problem
Segmentation attempts to partition the pixels of an
image into groups that strongly correlate with the
objects in an image
Typically the first step in any automated computer
vision application
Image segmentation: Example
Original Image Region Segmented Image
Image segmentation: Example …
The goals of segmentation
Separate image into coherent “objects”
image human segmentation
Image segmentation
Autonomous segmentation is the
most important but
One of the most difficult tasks in
image processing
Success of segmentation determines
success of image analysis
Introduction
The purpose of image segmentation is to
partition an image into meaningful regions with
respect to a particular application
The segmentation is based on measurements
taken from the image and might be greylevel,
colour, texture, depth or motion
Usually image segmentation is an initial and
vital step in a series of processes aimed at
overall image understanding
Principal approaches
Segmentation algorithms generally are based on
one of 2 basis properties of intensity values
Discontinuity (abrupt changes )
to partition an image based on abrupt changes
in intensity (such as edges)
Similarity (homogeneity)
to partition an image into regions that are
similar according to a set of predefined criteria.
Input image
Result of edge detection Result of region
technique extraction technique
Segmentation : Fundamentals
Let v be the spatial domain on which the image
is defined. Image segmentation divides v into n
regions, Ri (i = 1 to n) such that
Segmentation based
on
Detection of homogeneity
Pixel based Region based
approach approach
Pixel – based Approach
Regions in an image
Different objects Parts of an object
in the scene
Pixel – based Approach ...
Different objects or
parts of the same object have
different characteristics
So
Feature values recorded at pixels belonging to
different regions should be different
Basic Idea of Image Segmentation
All the image segmentation methods assume
that:
1. the intensity values are different in
different regions, and,
2. within each region, which represents the
corresponding object in a scene, the intensity
values are similar.
Basic Idea of Image Segmentation ...
Feature Mapping
values at Feature
every space
pixel
Distinct pixel clusters corresponding to different regions
will be formed
&
The image is segmented !!!
Thresholding
Gray level thresholding is the simplest segmentation
process.
Correct thresholding leads to better segmentation.
Many objects or image regions are characterized by
constant reflectivity or light absorption of their
surface.
Thresholding is computationally inexpensive and fast.
Thresholding can easily be done in real time
Thresholding ...
Thresholding as a Transformation Function
T = T[x, y, p(x,y), f(x,y)]
where
f(x,y) is the gray level of the point (x,y)
p(x,y) denotes some local property of the point
(e.g. the average gray level of a neighbourhood
centred at (x,y)
Thresholding ...
Global Thresholding
If T is only a function of f(x,y), then the threshold is
called global threshold.
Apply the same threshold to the whole image
Local Thresholding
If T is a function of both f(x,y) & p(x,y), the threshold is
called local.
The threshold depends on local property
Dynamic (Adaptive) Thresholding
The threshold depends on spatial coordinates (x,y)
Thresholding …
Thresholding is the transformation of an input
image f to an output (segmented) binary image g
1 if f ( x, y ) T
g ( x, y )
0 if f ( x, y ) T
where T is the threshold
g(x,y) = 1 for image elements of the objects &
g(x,y) = 0 for image elements of the background
From a grayscale image, thresholding can be used to
create binary images
Thresholding: Example
Imagine a poker playing robot that needs to
visually interpret the cards in its hand
Original Image Thresholded Image
But Be Careful
If you get the threshold wrong the results can be
disastrous
Threshold Too High Threshold Too Low
Thresholding: Example ...
Greyscale image "Boat" Its grey level histogram
Binary regions for T = 26 Binary regions for T = 235 Binary regions for T = 235
Selection of threshold is not a trivial task !!!!!!
Any inappropriate threshold will incur significant
& non-acceptable error in classification
Two problems to be addressed in finding the
threshold:
I. Choice of features/properties to achieve the
desired segmentation
II. Selection of optimum threshold that would
incur the least classification error
Choice of Feature
Segment the image into
two regions –
the disk & the background
What threshold values will
serve the purpose?
Gray levels
Any value between 128 &
Disk : 255 255 (both inclusive)
Background : 127
Gray levels
Disk : 25% pixels with graylevel 127
50% pixels with graylevel 191
25% pixels with graylevel 255
(all pixels are spatially uniformly distributed)
Background : 127
What now ??
Both background & disk contain pixels with gray level 127
Apply mean filter to the image
The pixels in the central disk will have graylevels
around 191 while that of background will still be 127.
Threshold can be any value between 128 & 191
Thresholding …
Suppose that the gray-level histogram
corresponds to an image, f(x,y), composed of
dark objects in a light background, in such a way
that object and background pixels have gray
levels grouped into two dominant modes.
One obvious way to extract the objects from the
background is to select a threshold „T‟ that
separates these modes.
Then any point (x,y) for which f(x,y) > T is called
an object point, otherwise, the point is called a
background point.
Basic Global Thresholding
Based on the histogram of an image
Partition the image histogram using a single
global threshold
The success of this technique very strongly
depends on how well the histogram can be
partitioned
Basic Global Thresholding Algorithm
The basic global threshold, T, is calculated as
follows:
1. Select an initial estimate for T (typically the
average grey level in the image)
2. Segment the image using T to produce two
groups of pixels:
G1 consisting of pixels with grey levels >T and
G2 consisting pixels with grey levels ≤ T
1. Compute the average grey levels of pixels in
G1 to give μ1 and G2 to give μ2
Basic Global Thresholding Algorithm …
4. Compute a new threshold value:
1 2
T
2
5. Repeat steps 2 – 4 until the difference in T in
successive iterations is less than a predefined
limit T∞
This algorithm works very well for finding thresholds
when the histogram is suitable
Thresholding : Example
Thresholding : Example …
Problems With Single Value Thresholding
Let‟s say we want to
isolate the contents
of the bottles.
Think about what the
histogram for this
image would look like.
What would happen if we
used a single threshold value?
Problems With Single Value Thresholding
Single value thresholding only works for bimodal
histograms
Images with other kinds of histograms need more
than a single threshold
Problems With Single Value Thresholding …
Uneven illumination can really upset a single
valued thresholding scheme
Basic Adaptive Thresholding
An approach to handling situations in which single
value thresholding will not work is to divide an
image into sub images and threshold these
individually
Since the threshold for each pixel depends on its
location within an image this technique is said to
adaptive
Basic Adaptive Thresholding Example
The image below shows an example of using adaptive
thresholding with the image shown previously
As can be seen success is mixed
But, we can further subdivide the troublesome sub
images for more success
What is a Region?
Basic definition :- A group of connected
pixels with similar properties.
Important in interpreting an image because
they may correspond to objects in a scene.
For correct interpretation, image must be
partitioned into regions that correspond to
objects or parts of an object.
Region – based Approach
Let R represent the entire image region. Segmentation partitions R
into n subregions, R1, R2, ..., Rn, such that:
a) n
a) Every pixel must be in a
R i R
i 1 region
b) Ri is a connected region, i 1, 2, ..., n .
b) Points in a region must be
connected.
c) Ri R j for all i and j, i j
c) Regions must be disjoint.
d) P( Ri ) TRUE for i 1,2,..., n. d) All pixels in a region satisfy
specific properties.
e) P(Ri R j ) FALSE for i j. e) Different regions have
different properties.
P(Ri) is a logical predicate property defined over the points in set Ri
Region – based Approach
The fundamental drawback of histogram-based
region detection is that histograms provide no
spatial information (only the distribution of gray
levels)
Region-growing approaches exploit the important
fact that pixels which are close together have
similar gray values
Region Growing
Start from a seed, and let it grow
(include similar neighborhood)
Once a pixel is accepted as a member of the
current region, the nearest neighbours of this new
pixel are examined.
The process goes on recursively until no more
pixels are accepted.
All pixels in the current region are marked with a
unique label.
Then another seed pixel is picked up & the
procedure is repeated.
Region Growing …
1.Choose the seed pixels (1 for every segment)
2.Check the neighboring pixels and add them to
the region if they are similar to the seed
3.Repeat step 2 for each of the newly added
pixels; stop if no more pixels can be added
Region Growing …
For region growing we need a rule describing a
growth mechanism and a rule checking the
homogeneity of the regions after each growth step.
The growth mechanism – at each stage k and for
each region Ri(k), i = 1,…,N, we check if there are
unclassified pixels in the 8-neighbourhood of each
pixel of the region border.
Before assigning such a pixel x to a region Ri (k),we
check if the region homogeneity:
P(Ri(k) U {x}) = TRUE , is valid
Region Growing: Example
Region Growing: Example
Region Growing: Example
Region Growing: Problems
Large execution time
The selection of the property to be
satisfied
The selection of the seed points
Region Splitting
1. Split starts from the assumption that the entire image
is homogeneous
2. If this is not true (by the homogeneity criterion), the
image is split into four sub images
3. This splitting procedure is repeated recursively until
we split the image into homogeneous regions
Region Splitting ...
We try to satisfy the homogeneity property over
a rectangular region.
If the gray levels (or the feature being measured)
present in the region do not satisfy the property,
we divide the region into four equal quadrants.
If the property is satisfied, we leave the region as
it is.
This is done recursively until all the regions satisfy
the property.
Region Splitting ...
If the original image is square N x N, having
dimensions that are powers of 2(N = 2n):
All regions produced but the splitting algorithm
are squares having dimensions M x M , where
M is a power of 2 as well (M=2m,M<= n).
Since the procedure is recursive, it produces an
image representation that can be described by
a tree whose nodes have four sons each
Such a tree is called a Quadtree.
Region Splitting ...
Since the procedure is recursive, it produces an image
representation that can be described by a tree whose
nodes have four childs each
Quadtree
R0 R1
R0
R3
R2 R1
R00 R01 R02 R04
Region Splitting and Merging
Split advantage:
Created regions are adjacent and homogenous
Split dis-advantage:
Over splitting since no merge is performed
Improvement::
Split & merge
Region Splitting and Merging ...
1. Split (& merge) starts from the assumption that the
entire image is homogeneous
2. If this is not true (by the homogeneity criterion), the
image is split into four sub images
3. This split is repeated until no further splitting is possible
4. Merging phase: If 2 adjacent regions are homogenous,
they are merged
5. Repeat step 4 until no further merging is possible
Region Splitting and Merging
If a region R is inhomogeneous
(P(R)= False) then R is split into four sub
regions
If two adjacent regions Ri, Rj are homogeneous
(P(Ri U Rj) = TRUE), they are merged
The algorithm stops when no further splitting or
merging is possible
Region growing: Example
Region Split: Example
Region Split and Merge: Example
Any Questions ?
