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Fundamental Steps in Digital Image Processing

Digital Image Processing involves using computer algorithms to manipulate digital images for quality improvement and information extraction. Key steps include image acquisition, enhancement, restoration, color processing, segmentation, and recognition, each serving distinct purposes in the analysis workflow. A knowledge base supports these processes by storing prior domain knowledge to enhance decision-making and optimize workflow.

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29 views3 pages

Fundamental Steps in Digital Image Processing

Digital Image Processing involves using computer algorithms to manipulate digital images for quality improvement and information extraction. Key steps include image acquisition, enhancement, restoration, color processing, segmentation, and recognition, each serving distinct purposes in the analysis workflow. A knowledge base supports these processes by storing prior domain knowledge to enhance decision-making and optimize workflow.

Uploaded by

humna8895
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 PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Fundamental Steps in Digital Image Processing

Digital Image Processing is the use of computer algorithms to perform image processing on digital
images. It involves manipulating an image to improve its quality, extract useful information, or prepare it
for further analysis.

Fundamental Steps in Digital Image Processing

Digital image processing techniques can be broadly categorized into two types:

1. Methods whose input and output are images, and


2. Methods whose inputs may be images, but whose outputs are attributes extracted from
those images.
This organization helps in understanding how different processes are applied to images
for various objectives.

Image Acquisition

Image acquisition is the first step in digital image processing. It can be as simple as receiving an
image already in digital form or involve capturing an image through a sensor. Often, acquisition
also includes preprocessing such as scaling. A more detailed discussion on image origin and
basic digital image concepts appears in later chapters.

Image Enhancement

Enhancement aims to highlight details or features of interest within an image. It is one of the
most intuitive and widely used areas of image processing. For example, increasing image
contrast simply because it “looks better” is an enhancement.
Enhancement is subjective—what looks good to one viewer might not to another. Although it is
not more important than other topics, enhancement is often used to introduce mathematical
concepts applicable in other areas. A good example is the Fourier transform, which appears in
enhancement discussions and elsewhere throughout the subject.

Image Restoration

While enhancement is subjective, image restoration is objective. Restoration techniques rely on


mathematical and probabilistic models of degradation to improve image appearance. They aim
to reverse known distortions and are less influenced by human preferences.
Color Image Processing

With the rise in digital imagery on the internet, color processing has become increasingly
significant. It involves understanding color models and performing color-based operations.
Color information also plays a key role in later processes, especially in feature extraction.

Wavelets and Multiresolution Processing

Wavelets allow images to be represented at various levels of resolution. This approach is useful
in image compression and pyramidal representation, where images are broken down into
smaller parts for better analysis.
Compression focuses on reducing storage space and transmission bandwidth. While storage
technology has improved, bandwidth remains a limitation—especially with high visual content
over the Internet. Common formats like JPEG (.jpg) are examples of compressed image
formats.

Morphological Processing

Morphological operations are used to extract shape-based image components, which are crucial
for later steps like representation and description. This stage serves as a transition from image-
based output to attribute-based analysis.

Segmentation

Segmentation divides an image into its constituent objects or regions. It is one of the most
challenging yet critical steps in image processing.
Strong segmentation techniques greatly improve the chances of successful object recognition,
while weak ones usually result in failure. The accuracy of segmentation directly affects the
performance of subsequent tasks.

Representation and Description

Once segmentation is done, the image data—often in pixel form—is converted for further
processing.
 Boundary representation is used when focusing on external shape features like edges or
corners.
 Regional representation is used when focusing on internal features like texture.
In some cases, both are used together.
The description process (also called feature selection) then extracts attributes that help
differentiate one object class from another. This information is typically quantitative and
is essential for tasks like classification.

Recognition

Recognition involves assigning a label (such as “vehicle”) to an object based on its descriptors. It
marks the end of the image analysis chain by interpreting the extracted features and assigning
meaning.

A crucial part of image processing is the knowledge base, which stores prior domain knowledge.
This information may be simple (e.g., likely areas of interest within an image) or complex (e.g., a
list of possible defects in a manufacturing process).
The knowledge base not only helps guide each module but also manages communication
between modules. This interaction improves decision-making and optimizes the image
processing workflow.

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