Morphological Image Operations

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 Dilation and Erosion
• Dilation and erosion are two fundamental
morphological operations.

• Dilation adds pixels to the boundaries of

objects in an image, while erosion removes
pixels on object boundaries.
Understanding Dilation and
Erosion
• In the morphological dilation and erosion
operations, the state of any given pixel in
the output image is determined by applying
a rule to the corresponding pixel and its
neighbors in the input image.
• The rule used to process the pixels defines
the operation as a dilation or an erosion.
Rules for Dilation and Erosion
Operation Rule
Dilation The value of the output pixel is the maximum
value of all the pixels in the input pixel’s
neighborhood. In a binary image, if any of the
pixels is set to the value 1, the output pixel is
set to 1.
Erosion The value of the output pixel is the minimum
value of all the pixels in the input pixel’s
neighborhood. In a binary image, if any of the
pixels is set to 0, the output pixel is set to 0.
 Structuring Elements
• An essential part of the dilation and erosion
operations is the structuring element used to
probe the input image.
• Two-dimensional, or flat, structuring
elements consist of a matrix of 0’s and 1’s,
typically much smaller than the image
being processed.
 Structuring Elements
• The center pixel of the structuring element, called the origin,
identifies the pixel of interest—the pixel being processed.

• The pixels in the structuring element containing 1’s define the

neighborhood of the structuring element.
 Mathematical Morphology
(Dilation, Erosion, Closing, Opening)

• Dilation

Dilation expands the connected sets of 1s of a binary image.

It can be used for

1. growing features

2. filling holes and gaps

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 • Erosion

Erosion shrinks the connected sets of 1s of a binary image.

It can be used for

1. shrinking features

2. Removing bridges, branches and small protrusions

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 Structuring Elements

A structuring element is a shape mask used in

the basic morphological operations.

They can be any shape and size that is

digitally representable, and each has an origin.

box
hexagon disk
something

box(length,width) disk(diameter)
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 Dilation with Structuring Elements

The arguments to dilation and erosion are

1. a binary image B
2. a structuring element S

dilate(B,S) takes binary image B, places the origin

of structuring element S over each 1-pixel, and ORs
the structuring element S into the output image at
the corresponding position.

0000 dilate 0110

1
0110 0111
11
0000 0000
S
B origin BS 10
 Erosion with Structuring Elements

erode(B,S) takes a binary image B, places the origin

of structuring element S over every pixel position, and
ORs a binary 1 into that position of the output image only if
every position of S (with a 1) covers a 1 in B.

origin
0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 erode
0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
1
0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
1
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

B S B S
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 Opening and Closing

• Closing is the compound operation of dilation followed

by erosion (with the same structuring element)

• Opening is the compound operation of erosion followed

by dilation (with the same structuring element)

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13
 Application:
Gear Tooth Inspection
original
binary
image

detected
defects

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 Connected Components Labeling
Once you have a binary image, you can identify and
then analyze each connected set of pixels.

The connected components operation takes in a binary image

and produces a labeled image in which each pixel has the
integer label of either the background (0) or a component.

original thresholded opening+closing components

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 EROSION

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 A first Example: Erosion
• Erosion is an important morphological
operation

• Applied Structuring Element:

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 Example for Erosion
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 0

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 Example for Erosion
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 0 0

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 Example for Erosion
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 0 0 0

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 Example for Erosion
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 0 0 0 0

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 Example for Erosion
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 0 0 0 0 1

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 Example for Erosion
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 0 0 0 0 1 0

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 Example for Erosion
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

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 Example for Erosion
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

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 Structuring Element (Kernel)
• Structuring Elements can have varying sizes
• Usually, element values are 0,1 and none(!)
• Structural Elements have an origin
• For thinning, other values are possible
• Empty spots in the Structuring Elements are don’t
care’s!

Box

Disc

Examples of stucturing elements

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 Dilation & Erosion
• Basic operations
• Are dual to each other:
– Erosion shrinks foreground, enlarges
Background

– Dilation enlarges foreground, shrinks

background

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 Erosion
• Erosion is the set of all points in the image, where
the structuring element “fits into”.
• Consider each foreground pixel in the input image
– If the structuring element fits in, write a “1” at the
origin of the structuring element!
• Simple application of pattern matching
• Input:
– Binary Image (Gray value)
– Structuring Element, containing only 1s!

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 Another example of erosion

• White = 0, black = 1, dual property, image as a result of erosion gets darker

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 Erosion on Gray Value Images
• View gray value images as a stack of binary
images!

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 Erosion on Gray Value Images

• Images get darker!

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 Counting Coins
• Counting coins is difficult because they
touch each other!
• Solution: Binarization and Erosion
separates them!

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 DILATION

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 Example: Dilation
• Dilation is an important morphological
operation

• Applied Structuring Element:

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 Dilation
• Dilation is the set of all points in the image, where
the structuring element “touches” the foreground.
• Consider each pixel in the input image
– If the structuring element touches the foreground
image, write a “1” at the origin of the structuring
element!
• Input:
– Binary Image
– Structuring Element, containing only 1s!!
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 Example for Dilation
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 1

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 Example for Dilation
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 1 0

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 Example for Dilation
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 1 0 1

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 Example for Dilation
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 1 0 1 1

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 Example for Dilation
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 1 0 1 1 1

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 Example for Dilation
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 1 0 1 1 1 1

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 Example for Dilation
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 1 0 1 1 1 1 1

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 Example for Dilation
Input image 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

Structuring Element 1 1 1

Output Image 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1

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 Another Dilation Example

• Image get lighter, more uniform intensity

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 Dilation on Gray Value Images
• View gray value images as a stack of binary
images!

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 Dilation on Gray Value Images

• More uniform intensity

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 Edge Detection
• Edge Detection
1. Dilate input image
2. Subtract input image from dilated image
3. Edges remain!

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 Opening & Closing
• Important operations
• Derived from the fundamental operations
– Dilatation
– Erosion
• Usually applied to binary images, but gray
value images are also possible
• Opening and closing are dual operations
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 OPENING

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 Opening
• Similar to Erosion
– Spot and noise removal
– Less destructive
• Erosion next dilation
• the same structuring element for both operations.
• Input:
– Binary Image
– Structuring Element, containing only 1s!

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 Opening
• Take the structuring element (SE) and slide it
around inside each foreground region.
– All pixels which can be covered by the SE with the SE
being entirely within the foreground region will be
preserved.
– All foreground pixels which can not be reached by the
structuring element without lapping over the edge of
the foreground object will be eroded away!
• Opening is idempotent: Repeated application has
no further effects!

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 Opening
• Structuring element: 3x3 square

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 Opening Example
• Opening with a 11 pixel diameter disc

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 Opening Example
• 3x9 and 9x3 Structuring Element

3*9

9*3

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 Opening on Gray Value Images
• 5x5 square structuring element

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 Use Opening for Separating
Blobs
• Use large structuring element that fits into
the big blobs
• Structuring Element: 11 pixel disc

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 CLOSING

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 Closing
• Similar to Dilation
– Removal of holes
– Tends to enlarge regions, shrink background
• Closing is defined as a Dilatation, followed by an
Erosion using the same structuring element for
both operations.
• Dilation next erosion!
• Input:
– Binary Image
– Structuring Element, containing only 1s!
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 Closing
• Take the structuring element (SE) and slide it
around outside each foreground region.
– All background pixels which can be covered by the SE
with the SE being entirely within the background
region will be preserved.
– All background pixels which can not be reached by the
structuring element without lapping over the edge of
the foreground object will be turned into a foreground.
• Opening is idempotent: Repeated application has
no further effects!

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 Closing
• Structuring element: 3x3 square

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 Closing Example
• Closing operation with a 22 pixel disc
• Closes small holes in the foreground

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 Closing Example 1
1. Threshold
2. Closing with disc of size 20

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Thresholded closed 62
 Closing Example 2
• Good for further processing: E.g. Skeleton
operation looks better for closed image!

skeleton of Thresholded
skeleton of Thresholded and next closed
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 Closing Gray Value Images
• 5x5 square structuring element

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 Opening & Closing
• Opening is the dual of closing
• i.e. opening the foreground pixels with a
particular structuring element
• is equivalent to closing the background
pixels with the same element.

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 HIT and
MISS
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 Hit-and-miss Transform
• Used to look for particular patterns of
foreground and background pixels

• Very simple object recognition

• All other morphological operations can be
derived from it!!
• Input:
– Binary Image
– Structuring Element, containing 0s and 1s!!
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 Hit-and-miss Transform
• Example for a Hit-and-miss Structuring Element
• Contains 0s, 1s and don’t care’s.
• Usually a “1” at the origin!

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 Hit-and-miss Transform
• Similar to Pattern Matching:
• If foreground and background pixels in the
structuring element exactly match
foreground and background pixels in the
image, then the pixel underneath the origin
of the structuring element is set to the
foreground color.

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 Corner Detection with Hit-and-
miss Transform
• Structuring Elements representing four
corners

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 Corner Detection with Hit-and-
miss Transform
• Apply each Structuring Element
• Use OR operation to combine the four
results

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 Basic
THINNING
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 Thinning
1. Used to remove selected foreground
pixels from binary images

2. After edge detection, lines are often

thicker than one pixel.

3. Thinning can be used to thin those line to

one pixel width.
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 Definition of Thinning
• Let K be a kernel and I be an image

thin I , K   I  HitAndMiss I , K 
with 0-1=0!!
• If foreground and background fit the structuring
element exactly, then the pixel at the origin of the SE
is set to 0

• Note that the value of the SE at the origin is 1 or don’t

care!
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 Example Thinning
We use two Hit-and-
miss Transforms

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 Basic
THICKENING
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 Thickening
• Used to grow selected regions of
foreground pixels
• E.g. applications like approximation of
convex hull

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 Definition Thickening
• Let K be a kernel and I be an image

thicken I , K   I  HitAndMiss I , K 
with 1+1=1
• If foreground and background match exactly the
SE, then set the pixel at its origin to 1!
• Note that the value of the SE at the origin is 0 or
don’t care!
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 Example Thickening

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