Image analysis
Encyclopedia
Image analysis is the extraction of meaningful information from image
s; mainly from digital image
s by means of digital image processing
techniques. Image analysis tasks can be as simple as reading bar code
d tags or as sophisticated as identifying a person from their face
.
Computer
s are indispensable for the analysis of large amounts of data, for tasks that require complex computation, or for the extraction of quantitative information. On the other hand, the human visual cortex
is an excellent image analysis apparatus, especially for extracting higher-level information, and for many applications — including medicine, security, and remote sensing — human analysts still cannot be replaced by computers. For this reason, many important image analysis tools such as edge detectors
and neural networks
are inspired by human visual perception
models.
or machine vision
, and medical imaging
, and makes heavy use of pattern recognition
, digital geometry
, and signal processing
. This field of computer science
developed in the 1950s at academic institutions such as the MIT
A.I. Lab, originally as a branch of artificial intelligence
and robotics
.
It is the quantitative
or qualitative characterization of two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional
(3D) digital images. 2D images are, for example, to be analyzed in computer vision
, and 3D images in medical imaging
. The field was established in the 1950s—1970s, for example with pioneering contributions by Azriel Rosenfeld
, Herbert Freeman
, Jack E. Bresenham
, or King-Sun Fu
.
science devoted to (...) partitioning remote sensing
(RS) imagery into meaningful image-objects, and assessing their characteristics through spatial, spectral and temporal scale".
Each of these application areas has spawned separate subfields of digital image analysis, with a large collection of specialized algorithms and concepts—and with their own journals, conferences, technical societies, and so on.
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
s; mainly from digital image
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
s by means of digital image processing
Digital image processing
Digital image processing is the use of computer algorithms to perform image processing on digital images. As a subcategory or field of digital signal processing, digital image processing has many advantages over analog image processing...
techniques. Image analysis tasks can be as simple as reading bar code
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
d tags or as sophisticated as identifying a person from their face
Facial recognition system
A facial recognition system is a computer application for automatically identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source...
.
Computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s are indispensable for the analysis of large amounts of data, for tasks that require complex computation, or for the extraction of quantitative information. On the other hand, the human visual cortex
Visual cortex
The visual cortex of the brain is the part of the cerebral cortex responsible for processing visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe, in the back of the brain....
is an excellent image analysis apparatus, especially for extracting higher-level information, and for many applications — including medicine, security, and remote sensing — human analysts still cannot be replaced by computers. For this reason, many important image analysis tools such as edge detectors
Edge detection
Edge detection is a fundamental tool in image processing and computer vision, particularly in the areas of feature detection and feature extraction, which aim at identifying points in a digital image at which the image brightness changes sharply or, more formally, has discontinuities...
and neural networks
Neural Networks
Neural Networks is the official journal of the three oldest societies dedicated to research in neural networks: International Neural Network Society, European Neural Network Society and Japanese Neural Network Society, published by Elsevier...
are inspired by human visual perception
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
models.
Computer image analysis
Computer image analysis largely contains the fields of computerComputer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
or machine vision
Machine vision
Machine vision is the process of applying a range of technologies and methods to provide imaging-based automatic inspection, process control and robot guidance in industrial applications. While the scope of MV is broad and a comprehensive definition is difficult to distil, a "generally accepted...
, and medical imaging
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
, and makes heavy use of pattern recognition
Pattern recognition
In machine learning, pattern recognition is the assignment of some sort of output value to a given input value , according to some specific algorithm. An example of pattern recognition is classification, which attempts to assign each input value to one of a given set of classes...
, digital geometry
Digital geometry
Digital geometry deals with discrete sets considered to be digitized models or images of objects of the 2D or 3D Euclidean space.Simply put, digitizing is replacing an object by a discrete set of its points...
, and signal processing
Signal processing
Signal processing is an area of systems engineering, electrical engineering and applied mathematics that deals with operations on or analysis of signals, in either discrete or continuous time...
. This field of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
developed in the 1950s at academic institutions such as the MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
A.I. Lab, originally as a branch of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
.
It is the quantitative
Quantitative property
A quantitative property is one that exists in a range of magnitudes, and can therefore be measured with a number. Measurements of any particular quantitative property are expressed as a specific quantity, referred to as a unit, multiplied by a number. Examples of physical quantities are distance,...
or qualitative characterization of two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional
Three-dimensional space
Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
(3D) digital images. 2D images are, for example, to be analyzed in computer vision
Computer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
, and 3D images in medical imaging
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
. The field was established in the 1950s—1970s, for example with pioneering contributions by Azriel Rosenfeld
Azriel Rosenfeld
Professor Dr. Azriel Rosenfeld was an American Research Professor, a Distinguished University Professor, and Director of the Center for Automation Research at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, where he also held affiliate professorships in the Departments of Computer Science,...
, Herbert Freeman
Herbert Freeman
Dr. Herbert Freeman is a computer scientist who made important contributions to the field of automatic label placement, computer graphics, including anti-aliasing, and machine vision. Dr. Freeman held many prestigious professorial posts such as in RPI , NYU, and Rutgers University.Dr...
, Jack E. Bresenham
Jack E. Bresenham
Jack Elton Bresenham is a former professor of computer science.-Biography:He retired from 27 years of service at IBM as a Senior Technical Staff Member in 1987. He taught for 16 years at Winthrop University and has nine patents...
, or King-Sun Fu
King-Sun Fu
Dr. King-Sun Fu was a professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He was instrumental in the founding of IAPR, served as its first president, and is widely recognized for his extensive contributions to the field of pattern recognition .In honor of the memory of Professor King-Sun...
.
Techniques
There are many different techniques used in automatically analysing images. Each technique may be useful for a small range of tasks, however there still aren't any known methods of image analysis that are generic enough for wide ranges of tasks, compared to the abilities of a human's image analysing capabilities. Examples of image analysis techniques in different fields include:- 2D and 3D object recognitionObject recognitionObject recognition in computer vision is the task of finding a given object in an image or video sequence. Humans recognize a multitude of objects in images with little effort, despite the fact that the image of the objects may vary somewhat in different view points, in many different sizes / scale...
, - image segmentationSegmentation (image processing)In computer vision, segmentation refers to the process of partitioning a digital image into multiple segments . The goal of segmentation is to simplify and/or change the representation of an image into something that is more meaningful and easier to analyze...
, - motion detectionMotion detectionMotion detection is a process of confirming a change in position of an object relative to its surroundings or the change in the surroundings relative to an object. This detection can be achieved by both mechanical and electronic methods...
e.g. Single particle trackingSingle particle trackingSingle particle tracking is the observation of the motion of individual particles within a medium. The coordinates over a series of time steps is referred to as a trajectory. The trajectory can be analyzed to identify modes of motion or heterogeneities in the motion such as obstacles or regions...
, - video trackingVideo trackingVideo tracking is the process of locating a moving object over time using a camera. It has a variety of uses, some of which are: human-computer interaction, security and surveillance, video communication and compression, augmented reality, traffic control, medical imaging and video editing...
, - optical flowOptical flowOptical flow or optic flow is the pattern of apparent motion of objects, surfaces, and edges in a visual scene caused by the relative motion between an observer and the scene. The concept of optical flow was first studied in the 1940s and ultimately published by American psychologist James J....
, - medical scan analysisMedical imagingMedical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
, - 3D Pose Estimation3D Pose Estimation3D pose estimation is the problem of determining the transformation of an object in a 2D image which gives the 3D object. The need for 3D pose estimation arises from the limitations of feature based pose estimation. There exist environments where it is difficult to extract corners or edges from...
, - automatic number plate recognitionAutomatic number plate recognitionAutomatic number plate recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task...
.
Digital image analysis
Digital Image Analysis is when a computer or electrical device automatically studies an image to obtain useful information from it. Note that the device is often a computer but may also be an electrical circuit, a digital camera or a mobile phone. The applications of digital image analysis are continuously expanding through all areas of science and industry, including:- medicine, such as detecting cancer in an MRI scan.
- microscopyMicroscope image processingMicroscope image processing is a broad term that covers the use of digital image processing techniques to process, analyze and present images obtained from a microscope. Such processing is now commonplace in a number of diverse fields such as medicine, biological research, cancer research, drug...
, such as counting the germs in a swab. - remote sensingRemote sensingRemote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
, such as detecting intruders in a house. - astronomy, such as calculating the size of a planet.
- materials scienceMaterials scienceMaterials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates...
, such as determining if a metal weld has cracks. - machine visionMachine visionMachine vision is the process of applying a range of technologies and methods to provide imaging-based automatic inspection, process control and robot guidance in industrial applications. While the scope of MV is broad and a comprehensive definition is difficult to distil, a "generally accepted...
, such as to automatically count items in a factory conveyor belt. - securitySecuritySecurity is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
, such as detecting a person's eye color or hair color. - roboticsRoboticsRobotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, such as to avoid steering into an obstacle. - optical character recognitionOptical character recognitionOptical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
, such as automatic license plate detection. - assay micro plate readingPlate readerMicroplate Readers are laboratory instruments designed to detect biological, chemical or physical events of samples in microtiter plates. They are widely used in research, drug discovery, bioassay validation, quality control and manufacturing processes in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological...
, such as detecting where a chemical was manufactured. - metallographyMetallographyMetallography is the study of the physical structure and components of metals, typically using microscopy.Ceramic and polymeric materials may also be prepared using metallographic techniques, hence the terms ceramography, plastography and, collectively, materialography.-Preparing metallographic...
, such as determining the mineral content of a rock sample. - defenseDefense (military)Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
Object-based image analysis
Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) – also Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) – "is a sub-discipline of geoinformationGeoinformation
Geoinformation is an abbreviation of geographic information. Geographic information is created by manipulating geographic data in a computerized system. Systems can include computers and networks, standards and protocols for data use and exchange between users within a range of different...
science devoted to (...) partitioning remote sensing
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
(RS) imagery into meaningful image-objects, and assessing their characteristics through spatial, spectral and temporal scale".
Each of these application areas has spawned separate subfields of digital image analysis, with a large collection of specialized algorithms and concepts—and with their own journals, conferences, technical societies, and so on.
See also
- RapidMiner and Image Processing Extension for Rapidminer (open-source tools)
- List of image analysis software
External links
- Manawatu Microscopy - first known collaboration environment for Microscopy and Image Analysis featuring Open DataBase of Image Analysis Functions.