Quantum Image Processing

(QIP): Image Processing

Applications on
Quantum Computers
<Light Quantum (Photon)|黃光旭 (KS John Huang)>
 Agenda

• <QIP | Basics & Methodology>

• <QIP | Quantum Image Representations>
• <QIP | Quantum Image Operations>
• <QIP | Quantum Image Security>
• <QIP | Conclusion>

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<QIP | Basics & Methodology>

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What’s Image?
- Light (EM light quanta/photons) detected/captured in analog/digital forms
What’s Image Processing?
- Performing some operations on an image, in order to get an enhanced
image or to extract some useful information from it.

⾕中百合花
晨星燦爛光華
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看見什麼？

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看見什麼？

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 Image Concepts
• An image is a function of intensity values over a 2D plane I(r,s);
the intensity of a light wave is proportional to the square of its
amplitude (A2 ∝ I).
• Sample function at discrete intervals to represent an image in
digital form
• matrix of intensity values for each color plane
• intensity typically represented with 8 bits

• Sample points are called pixels

• Existed optical systems (such as telescopes/microscopes/
synthetic aperture radars/interferometers/optical lithography
etc.) transmitted/computed analog optical images with a large
part of their whole processes with similar high computing
effectiveness of quantum image processing, as the classical
interference is the manifestation of the quantum interference
(state superpostion and entanglement).
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Overlapping Fields with Image Processing

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Image Processing System

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 Quantum-Related Image Areas
§ Quantum-assisted digital image processing (QDIP):
These applications aim to improve some well-known
digital or classical image processing tasks and
applications by exploiting some useful properties of
quantum computing algorithms
§ Optics-based quantum imaging (OQI): These
applications focus on techniques for optical imaging
and parallel information processing at the quantum
level by exploiting the quantum nature of light and the
intrinsic parallelism of optical signals.
§ Classically-inspired quantum image processing (QIP or
QIMP): These applications focus on extending classical
image processing tasks and applications to a quantum
computing framework.
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 What’s Quantum Image Processing (QIP)?

Output
Input Image
Image Processed
to Be Or
Processed Results

Why QIP?
- Leverage the powerful properties of quantum computation,
notably superposition, entanglement and parallelism
- Aim to achieve better computing speed, security, and
storage requirements
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 Image Processing at
Classical (digital) and Quantum Computers

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QIP Workflow

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 Intelligent Agent:
Image Processing is Key to “?”

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Example: Fingerprint ID System

Reference

Yes/
NO
Input
to be measured

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 Binary Image Algebra (BIA)
Underlying Methodology: the Way of Light
- At a fundamental level,
only a few elementary particles and fundamental interactions
(interferences/coupling forces@quantum gauged fields) govern all of reality.

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 Binary Image Algebra (BIA)

Provide the basis for Digital Optical Cellular Image Processor (DOCIP),
Fingerprint ID and Misc. System Architecture and Algorithm Developments in
my career.
You may choose another equivalent universal set F based on the effectiveness
of your underlying hardware and software realizations/constraints.
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Fundamental Operations of BIA

(Structuring Element))

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<QIMP | Quantum Image Representations>

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 Image Representations
§ Analog image
Analog-to-Digital Samples = pixels
Quantization = number of bits per pixel
§ Digital image
a) Binary Image (Black and white image)
- single color plane with 0/1/2 bits
b) Grey scale image
- single color plane with 8 bits
c) Color image
- three color planes each with 8 bits
RGB, CMY, YIQ, etc.
Indexed color image
single plane that indexes a color table
Compressed images
TIFF, JPEG, BMP, etc.
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Color Quantization
Example of 24 bit RGB Image

24-bit Color Monitor

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Image Representation Example
24 bit RGB Representation (uncompressed)

128" 135" 166" 138" 190" 132"

129" 255" 105" 189" 167" 190"
229" 213" 134" 111" 138" 187"

128" 138" 135" 190" 166" 132"

129" 189" 255" 167" 105" 190"
229" 111" 213" 138" 134" 187"
Color Planes

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Graphical Representation

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Quantum Image Processing Representations

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 Image Representation in Quantum States
§ Qubit Lattice Model: Quantum-analog representation of classical images
If the frequency value (color value) of the light wave can be mapped to the
probability amplitude of a qubit, then the pixel value of i-th row and the j-th column
can be stored in the amplitude angle shown in equation:

Map image’s spatial information with the amplitude of

a single qubit without using quantum properties,
therefore requiring the same number of qubits as pixels.
The lattice model thus requires very large number of qubits to
represent an image.
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 Image Representation in Quantum States
§ Flexible Representation of Quantum Images (FRQI) Model:
This is an upgraded version of Qubit Lattice by exploiting quantum
state superposition. The scheme still maps each pixel’s grayscale
value to the amplitude, meanwhile introducing an auxiliary qubit to
denote the spatial position of each pixel. Then, the whole image is
prepared into a large quantum superposition state. Due to quantum
states’ superposition effect, the representation (storage) space
decreases exponentially compared to the classical image.

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Example: A 2 × 2 FRQI image and its
quantum state

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 Image Representation in Quantum States
§ Novel enhanced quantum representation (NEQR) Model

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Example: A 2 × 2 NEQR image and its
quantum state

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Binary Image (NEQR)

Two Binary Images (NEQR)

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<QIP | Quantum Image Operations>

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Mapping Image Operations into Quantum
Circuits with Quantum Gates:

Quantum
Swapping Gate

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Quantum Complement of Image X

BIA

R=Y

Quantum
Complement
(NOT)
Circuit for
Image (NEQR)

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 Quantum Union (OR) of Two Images

BIA

R=Y
Image A B
Quantum
Union
Circuit for
Image
(NEQR)

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Quantum Intersection (AND) of Two Images

BIA

R=Y

Quantum
Intersection
Circuit for
Image
(NEQR)

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Quantum Dilation

BIA

R=Y

Quantum
Dilation
Circuit for
Image
(NEQR)

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Quantum Erosion

BIA

R=Y

Quantum
Erosion
Circuit for
Image
(NEQR)

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Erosion Examples

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<QIP | Quantum Image Security>

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Algorithms for Quantum Watermarking

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Algorithms for Quantum Image Encryption

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Algorithms for Quantum Image Steganography

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Algorithms for Quantum Image Steganography

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Color Information Key Generation
for Watermarking

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Position Information Key Generation
for Watermarking

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Example of Watermark Image Embedding:
Frequency and Spatial Domains

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 <QIP | Conclusion>
• Extending digital image processing to QIP conjures
similar expectations of quantum computation advantages
• Better synergize other advances in different quantum/optical/
classical image areas
• Further developing effective compatible image
representations and interfaces, hardware/software/test/
benchmark development platform among different types of
classical, optical, quantum computers is important for
enabling effective practical algorithms

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 References
§ Digital Optical Cellular Image Processor: Theory, Architecture and
Implementation, Kung-Shiuh Huang, USC PhD Thesis, 1988; World Scientific
Series in Computer Science - Vol. 24, World Scientific Publishing Co.,
1990/1991, ISBN: 981-02-0337-3; 光學細胞圖像處理機, 黃光旭, Central
Book Publishing Co. (中央圖書出版社) (translated by S. Liu, et al) , 1993,
ISBN: 957-637-187-2.
§ Digital Image Processing, Rafael C. Gonzalez and Richard E. Woods, 4th
Edition, Pearson.
§ Yuan, S.; Mao, X.; Li, T.; Xue, Y.; Chen, L.; Xiong, Q. (2015). "Quantum
morphology operations based on quantum representation model". Quantum
Information Processing. 14 (5): 1625–1645.
§ Yan, Fei; Venegas-Andraca, Salvador E. (2020). Quantum Image Processing.
Springer. ISBN 978-9813293304.
§ Feynman lectures on computation, Richard P. Feynman ; edited by Anthony
IG. Hey and Robin W. Allen. Addison-Wesley, 1996.
§ The Principle of Least Action in Quantum Mechanics, Richard P. Feynman,
MIT PhD Thesis, 1942; Feynman’s Thesis – A New Approach to Quantum
Theory, World Scientific Publishing Co., 2005, ISBN 981-256-366-0.
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