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The document discusses computer vision as a key area of artificial intelligence that enables machines to process and understand images. It explains how images are represented as arrays of pixel values and introduces techniques such as convolutional filtering to modify these images for various effects. Additionally, it highlights the use of Microsoft Azure AI Vision as a cloud service for developing computer vision solutions.

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10 views6 pages

Microsoft

The document discusses computer vision as a key area of artificial intelligence that enables machines to process and understand images. It explains how images are represented as arrays of pixel values and introduces techniques such as convolutional filtering to modify these images for various effects. Additionally, it highlights the use of Microsoft Azure AI Vision as a cloud service for developing computer vision solutions.

Uploaded by

dr.peshy001
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Computer vision is one of the core areas of artificial intelligence (AI), and

focuses on creating solutions that enable AI applications to "see" the


world and make sense of it.

Of course, computers don't have biological eyes that work the way ours
do, but they're capable of processing images; either from a live camera
feed or from digital photographs or videos. This ability to process images
is the key to creating software that can emulate human visual perception.

In this module, we'll examine some of the fundamental principles and


techniques that underlie computer vision. We'll also introduce Microsoft
Azure AI Vision, a cloud service that developers can use to create a wide
range of computer vision solutions.

Before we can explore image processing and other computer vision


capabilities, it's useful to consider what an image actually is in the context
of data for a computer program.

Images as pixel arrays

To a computer, an image is an array of numeric pixel values. For example,


consider the following array:

Copy

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The array consists of seven rows and seven columns, representing the
pixel values for a 7x7 pixel image (which is known as the image's
resolution). Each pixel has a value between 0 (black) and 255 (white); with
values between these bounds representing shades of gray. The image
represented by this array looks similar to the following (magnified) image:

Diagram of a grayscale image.

The array of pixel values for this image is two-dimensional (representing


rows and columns, or x and y coordinates) and defines a single rectangle
of pixel values. A single layer of pixel values like this represents a
grayscale image. In reality, most digital images are multidimensional and
consist of three layers (known as channels) that represent red, green, and
blue (RGB) color hues. For example, we could represent a color image by
defining three channels of pixel values that create the same square shape
as the previous grayscale example:

Copy

Red:

150 150 150 150 150 150 150

150 150 150 150 150 150 150

150 150 255 255 255 150 150

150 150 255 255 255 150 150

150 150 255 255 255 150 150

150 150 150 150 150 150 150

150 150 150 150 150 150 150

Green:

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Blue:

255 255 255 255 255 255 255

255 255 255 255 255 255 255

255 255 0 0 0 255 255

255 255 0 0 0 255 255

255 255 0 0 0 255 255

255 255 255 255 255 255 255

255 255 255 255 255 255 255

Here's the resulting image:

Diagram of a color image.

The purple squares are represented by the combination:

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Red: 150

Green: 0

Blue: 255

The yellow squares in the center are represented by the combination:

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Red: 255

Green: 255

Blue: 0

Using filters to process images


A common way to perform image processing tasks is to apply filters that
modify the pixel values of the image to create a visual effect. A filter is
defined by one or more arrays of pixel values, called filter kernels. For
example, you could define filter with a 3x3 kernel as shown in this
example:

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-1 -1 -1

-1 8 -1

-1 -1 -1

The kernel is then convolved across the image, calculating a weighted


sum for each 3x3 patch of pixels and assigning the result to a new image.
It's easier to understand how the filtering works by exploring a step-by-
step example.

Let's start with the grayscale image we explored previously:

Copy

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 255 255 255 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

First, we apply the filter kernel to the top left patch of the image,
multiplying each pixel value by the corresponding weight value in the
kernel and adding the results:
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(0 x -1) + (0 x -1) + (0 x -1) +

(0 x -1) + (0 x 8) + (0 x -1) +

(0 x -1) + (0 x -1) + (255 x -1) = -255

The result (-255) becomes the first value in a new array. Then we move
the filter kernel along one pixel to the right and repeat the operation:

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(0 x -1) + (0 x -1) + (0 x -1) +

(0 x -1) + (0 x 8) + (0 x -1) +

(0 x -1) + (255 x -1) + (255 x -1) = -510

Again, the result is added to the new array, which now contains two
values:

Copy

-255 -510

The process is repeated until the filter has been convolved across the
entire image, as shown in this animation:

Diagram of a filter.

The filter is convolved across the image, calculating a new array of values.
Some of the values might be outside of the 0 to 255 pixel value range, so
the values are adjusted to fit into that range. Because of the shape of the
filter, the outside edge of pixels isn't calculated, so a padding value
(usually 0) is applied. The resulting array represents a new image in which
the filter has transformed the original image. In this case, the filter has
had the effect of highlighting the edges of shapes in the image.
To see the effect of the filter more clearly, here's an example of the same
filter applied to a real image:

Original Image Filtered Image

Diagram of a banana. Diagram of a filtered banana.

Because the filter is convolved across the image, this kind of image
manipulation is often referred to as convolutional filtering. The filter used
in this example is a particular type of filter (called a laplace filter) that
highlights the edges on objects in an image. There are many other kinds
of filter that you can use to create blurring, sharpening, color inversion,
and other effects.

Next unit: Machine learning for computer vision

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