Infrared image segmentation method based on 2D histogram shape modification and optimal objective function

In the methods of image thresholding segmentation, such methods based on two-dimensional （2D） histogram and optimal objective functions are important. However, when they are used for infrared image segmentation, they are weak in suppressing background noises and worse in segmenting targets with non-uniform gray level. The concept of 2D histogram shape modification is proposed, which is realized by target information prior restraint after enhancing target information using plateau histogram equalization. The formula of 2D minimum Renyi entropy is deduced for image segmentation, then the shape-modified 2D histogram is combined wfth four optimal objective functions （i.e., maximum between-class variance, maximum entropy, maximum correlation and minimum Renyi entropy） respectively for the appli- cation of infrared image segmentation. Simultaneously, F-measure is introduced to evaluate the segmentation effects objectively. The experimental results show that F-measure is an effective evaluation index for image segmentation since its value is fully consistent with the subjective evaluation, and after 2D histogram shape modification, the methods of optimal objective functions can overcome their original forms＇ deficiency and their segmentation effects are more or less improvements, where the best one is the maximum entropy method based on 2D histogram shape modification.

Multi-Level Image Segmentation Combining Chaotic Initialized Chimp Optimization Algorithm and Cauchy Mutation

To enhance the diversity and distribution uniformity of initial population,as well as to avoid local extrema in the Chimp Optimization Algorithm(CHOA),this paper improves the CHOA based on chaos initialization and Cauchy mutation.First,Sin chaos is introduced to improve the random population initialization scheme of the CHOA,which not only guarantees the diversity of the population,but also enhances the distribution uniformity of the initial population.Next,Cauchy mutation is added to optimize the global search ability of the CHOA in the process of position(threshold)updating to avoid the CHOA falling into local optima.Finally,an improved CHOA was formed through the combination of chaos initialization and Cauchy mutation(CICMCHOA),then taking fuzzy Kapur as the objective function,this paper applied CICMCHOA to natural and medical image segmentation,and compared it with four algorithms,including the improved Satin Bowerbird optimizer(ISBO),Cuckoo Search(ICS),etc.The experimental results deriving from visual and specific indicators demonstrate that CICMCHOA delivers superior segmentation effects in image segmentation.

A New Multilevel Thresholding Method Using Swarm Intelligence Algorithm for Image Segmentation

Thresholding is a popular image segmentation method that converts gray-level image into binary image. The selection of optimum thresholds has remained a challenge over decades. In order to determine thresholds, most methods analyze the histogram of the image. The optimal thresholds are often found by either minimizing or maximizing an objective function with respect to the values of the thresholds. In this paper, a new intelligence algorithm, particle swarm opti-mization (PSO), is presented for multilevel thresholding in image segmentation. This algorithm is used to maximize the Kapur’s and Otsu’s objective functions. The performance of the PSO has been tested on ten sample images and it is found to be superior as compared with genetic algorithm (GA).

Medical ultrasound image segmentation by modified local histogram range image method

Fast and satisfied medical ultrasound segmentation is known to be difficult due to speckle noises and other artificial effects. Since speckle noise is formed from random signals which are emitted by an ultrasound system, we can’t encounter the same way as other image noises. Lack of information in ultrasound images is another problem. Thus, segmentation results may not be accurate enough by means of customary image segmentation methods. Those methods that can specify undesirable effects and segment them by eliminating artificial effects, should be chosen. It seems to be a complicated work with high computational load. The current study presents a different approach to ultrasound image segmentation that relies mainly on local evaluation, named as local histogram range image method which is modified by means of discrete wavelet transform. Thus, a significant decrease in computational load is then achieved. The results show that it is possible for tissues to be segmented correctly.

A novel stepwise thresholding for fuzzy image segmentation

A novel stepwise thresholding method for fuzzy image segmentation is proposed. Unlike the published iterative or recursive thresholding mehtods, this method segments regions into sub-regions iteratively by increasing threshold value in a stepwise manner, based on a preset intensity homogeneity criteria. The method is particularly suited to segmentation of the laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) images, computerised tomography (CT) images, magnetic resonance (MR) images, fingerprint images, etc. The method has been tested on some typical fuzzy image data sets. In this paper, the novel stepwise thresholding is first addressed. Next a new method of region labelling for region extraction is introduced. Then the design of intensity homogeneity segmentation criteria is presented. Some examples of the experiment results of fuzzy image segmentation by the method are given at the end.

Optimal multilevel thresholding based on molecular kinetic theory optimization algorithm and line intercept histogram

Among all segmentation techniques, Otsu thresholding method is widely used. Line intercept histogram based Otsu thresholding method(LIH Otsu method) can be more resistant to Gaussian noise, highly efficient in computing time, and can be easily extended to multilevel thresholding. But when images contain salt-and-pepper noise, LIH Otsu method performs poorly. An improved LIH Otsu method(ILIH Otsu method) is presented, which can be more resistant to Gaussian noise and salt-and-pepper noise. Moreover, it can be easily extended to multilevel thresholding. In order to improve the efficiency, the optimization algorithm based on the kinetic-molecular theory(KMTOA) is used to determine the optimal thresholds. The experimental results show that ILIH Otsu method has stronger anti-noise ability than two-dimensional Otsu thresholding method(2-D Otsu method), LIH Otsu method, K-means clustering algorithm and fuzzy clustering algorithm.

Hand segmentation from a single depth image based on histogram threshold selection and shallow CNN

Real-time hand gesture recognition technology significantly improves the user's experience for virtual reality/augmented reality(VR/AR) applications, which relies on the identification of the orientation of the hand in captured images or videos. A new three-stage pipeline approach for fast and accurate hand segmentation for the hand from a single depth image is proposed. Firstly, a depth frame is segmented into several regions by histogrambased threshold selection algorithm and by tracing the exterior boundaries of objects after thresholding. Secondly, each segmentation proposal is evaluated by a three-layers shallow convolutional neural network(CNN) to determine whether or not the boundary is associated with the hand. Finally, all hand components are merged as the hand segmentation result. Compared with algorithms based on random decision forest(RDF), the experimental results demonstrate that the approach achieves better performance with high-accuracy(88.34% mean intersection over union, mIoU) and a shorter processing time(≤8 ms).

Unsupervised Segmentation Method of Multicomponent Images based on Fuzzy Connectivity Analysis in the Multidimensional Histograms

Image segmentation denotes a process for partitioning an image into distinct regions, it plays an important role in interpretation and decision making. A large variety of segmentation methods has been developed;among them, multidimensional histogram methods have been investigated but their implementation stays difficult due to the big size of histograms. We present an original method for segmenting n-D (where n is the number of components in image) images or multidimensional images in an unsupervised way using a fuzzy neighbourhood model. It is based on the hierarchical analysis of full n-D compact histograms integrating a fuzzy connected components labelling algorithm that we have realized in this work. Each peak of the histo- gram constitutes a class kernel, as soon as it encloses a number of pixels greater than or equal to a secondary arbitrary threshold knowing that a first threshold was set to define the degree of binary fuzzy similarity be- tween pixels. The use of a lossless compact n-D histogram allows a drastic reduction of the memory space necessary for coding it. As a consequence, the segmentation can be achieved without reducing the colors population of images in the classification step. It is shown that using n-D compact histograms, instead of 1-D and 2-D ones, leads to better segmentation results. Various images were segmented;the evaluation of the quality of segmentation in supervised and unsupervised of segmentation method proposed compare to the classification method k-means gives better results. It thus highlights the relevance of our approach, which can be used for solving many problems of segmentation.

A Semi-Vectorial Hybrid Morphological Segmentation of Multicomponent Images Based on Multithreshold Analysis of Multidimensional Compact Histogram

In this work, we propose an original approach of semi-vectorial hybrid morphological segmentation for multicomponent images or multidimensional data by analyzing compact multidimensional histograms based on different orders. Its principle consists first of segment marginally each component of the multicomponent image into different numbers of classes fixed at K. The segmentation of each component of the image uses a scalar segmentation strategy by histogram analysis;we mainly count the methods by searching for peaks or modes of the histogram and those based on a multi-thresholding of the histogram. It is the latter that we have used in this paper, it relies particularly on the multi-thresholding method of OTSU. Then, in the case where i) each component of the image admits exactly K classes, K vector thresholds are constructed by an optimal pairing of which each component of the vector thresholds are those resulting from the marginal segmentations. In addition, the multidimensional compact histogram of the multicomponent image is computed and the attribute tuples or ‘colors’ of the histogram are ordered relative to the threshold vectors to produce (K + 1) intervals in the partial order giving rise to a segmentation of the multidimensional histogram into K classes. The remaining colors of the histogram are assigned to the closest class relative to their center of gravity. ii) In the contrary case, a vectorial spatial matching between the classes of the scalar components of the image is produced to obtain an over-segmentation, then an interclass fusion is performed to obtain a maximum of K classes. Indeed, the relevance of our segmentation method has been highlighted in relation to other methods, such as K-means, using unsupervised and supervised quantitative segmentation evaluation criteria. So the robustness of our method relatively to noise has been tested.

Image Segmentation of Brain MR Images Using Otsu’s Based Hybrid WCMFO Algorithm

In this study,a novel hybrid Water Cycle Moth-Flame Optimization(WCMFO)algorithm is proposed for multilevel thresholding brain image segmentation in Magnetic Resonance(MR)image slices.WCMFO constitutes a hybrid between the two techniques,comprising the water cycle and moth-flame optimization algorithms.The optimal thresholds are obtained by maximizing the between class variance(Otsu’s function)of the image.To test the performance of threshold searching process,the proposed algorithm has been evaluated on standard benchmark of ten axial T2-weighted brain MR images for image segmentation.The experimental outcomes infer that it produces better optimal threshold values at a greater and quicker convergence rate.In contrast to other state-of-the-art methods,namely Adaptive Wind Driven Optimization(AWDO),Adaptive Bacterial Foraging(ABF)and Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO),the proposed algorithm has been found to be better at producing the best objective function,Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio(PSNR),Standard Deviation(STD)and lower computational time values.Further,it was observed thatthe segmented image gives greater detail when the threshold level increases.Moreover,the statistical test result confirms that the best and mean values are almost zero and the average difference between best and mean value 1.86 is obtained through the 30 executions of the proposed algorithm.Thus,these images will lead to better segments of gray,white and cerebrospinal fluid that enable better clinical choices and diagnoses using a proposed algorithm.

Fuzzy Hybrid Coyote Optimization Algorithm for Image Thresholding

In order to address the problems of Coyote Optimization Algorithm in image thresholding,such as easily falling into local optimum,and slow convergence speed,a Fuzzy Hybrid Coyote Optimization Algorithm(here-inafter referred to as FHCOA)based on chaotic initialization and reverse learning strategy is proposed,and its effect on image thresholding is verified.Through chaotic initialization,the random number initialization mode in the standard coyote optimization algorithm(COA)is replaced by chaotic sequence.Such sequence is nonlinear and long-term unpredictable,these characteristics can effectively improve the diversity of the population in the optimization algorithm.Therefore,in this paper we first perform chaotic initialization,using chaotic sequence to replace random number initialization in standard COA.By combining the lens imaging reverse learning strategy and the optimal worst reverse learning strategy,a hybrid reverse learning strategy is then formed.In the process of algorithm traversal,the best coyote and the worst coyote in the pack are selected for reverse learning operation respectively,which prevents the algorithm falling into local optimum to a certain extent and also solves the problem of premature convergence.Based on the above improvements,the coyote optimization algorithm has better global convergence and computational robustness.The simulation results show that the algorithmhas better thresholding effect than the five commonly used optimization algorithms in image thresholding when multiple images are selected and different threshold numbers are set.

A fast and effective fuzzy clustering algorithm for color image segmentation

A fast and effective fuzzy clustering algorithm is proposed. The algorithm splits an image into n × n blocks, and uses block variance to judge whether the block region is homogeneous. Mean and center pixel of each homogeneous block are extracted for feature. Each inhomogeneous block is split into separate pixels and the mean of neighboring pixels within a window around each pixel and pixel value are extracted for feature. Then cluster of homogeneous blocks and cluster of separate pixels from inhomogeneous blocks are carried out respectively according to different membership functions. In fuzzy clustering stage, the center pixel and center number of the initial clustering are calculated based on histogram by using mean feature. Then different membership functions according to comparative result of block variance are computed. Finally, modified fuzzy c-means with spatial information to complete image segmentation axe used. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve better segmental results and has shorter executive time than many well-known methods.

Review of Theory and Methods of Image Segmentation

Image segmentation refers to the technique and process of partitioning a digital image into multiple segments based on image characteristics so as to extract the object of interest from it. It is a key step from image processing to image analysis. In the mid-1950s, people began to study image segmentation. For decades, various methods for image segmentation have been proposed. In this paper, traditional image segmentation methods and some new methods appearing in recent years were reviewed. Thresholding segmentation methods, region-based, edge detection-based and segmentation methods based on specific theoretical tools were introduced in detail.

Novel Method to Determine the Image Segmentation Threshold during the Quantitative Test on Meso-structure of Geo-material

As a kind of special material in geotechnical engineering, the mudded weak interlayer plays a crucial part in slope stability. In this paper, we presented a method to determine the threshold value of section micrographs of the mudded weak interlayer in slope during its meso-structure qualification process. Some soil tests, scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and image segmentation technology were performed to fulfill our purpose. Specifically, the relation between 3 D-porosity and the threshold was obtained by least square fitting of the threshold-porosity curves and a simplified pore equivalent model. Using this relation and the 3 D-porosity determined by soil experiments, we can figure out the polynomial equation of the threshold value. The threshold values obtained by the other existing methods in literature were employed to validate our present results.

A Novel Hybrid Tunicate Swarm Naked Mole-Rat Algorithm for Image Segmentation and Numerical Optimization

This paper provides a new optimization algorithm named as tunicate swarm naked mole-rat algorithm(TSNMRA)which uses hybridization concept of tunicate swarm algorithm(TSA)and naked mole-rat algorithm(NMRA).This newly developed algorithm uses the characteristics of both algorithms(TSA and NMRA)and enhance the exploration abilities of NMRA.Apart from the hybridization concept,important parameter of NMRA such as mating factor is made to be self-adaptive with the help of simulated annealing(sa)mutation operator and there is no need to define its value manually.For evaluating the working capabilities of proposed TSNMRA,it is tested for 100-digit challenge(CEC 2019)test problems and real multi-level image segmentation problem.From the results obtained for CEC 2019 test problems,it can be seen that proposed TSNMRA performs well as compared to original TSA and NMRA.In case of image segmentation problem,comparison of TSNMRA is performed with multi-threshold electro magnetism-like optimization(MTEMO),particle swarm optimization(PSO),genetic algorithm(GA),bacterial foraging(BF)and found superior results for TSNMRA.

Image Segmentation Based on Block Level and Hybrid Directional Local Extrema

In the recent decade,the digitalization of various tasks has added great flexibility to human lifestyle and has changed daily routine activities of communities.Image segmentation is a key step in digitalization.Segmentation plays a key role in almost all areas of image processing,and various approaches have been proposed for image segmentation.In this paper,a novel approach is proposed for image segmentation using a nonuniform adaptive strategy.Region-based image segmentation along with a directional binary pattern generated a better segmented image.An adaptive mask of 8×8 was circulated over the pixels whose bit value was 1 in the generated directional binary pattern.Segmentation was performed in three phases:first,an image was divided into sub-images or image chunks;next,the image patches were taken as input,and an adaptive threshold was generated;and finally the image chunks were processed separately by convolving the adaptive mask on the image chunks.Gradient and Laplacian of Gaussian algorithms along with directional extrema patterns provided a double check for boundary pixels.The proposed approach was tested on chunks of varying sizes,and after multiple iterations,it was found that a block size of 8×8 performs better than other chunks or block sizes.The accuracy of the segmentation technique was measured in terms of the count of ill regions,which were extracted after the segmentation process.

New two-dimensional fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm for image segmentation

To solve the problem of poor anti-noise performance of the traditional fuzzy C-means (FCM) algorithm in image segmentation, a novel two-dimensional FCM clustering algorithm for image segmentation was proposed. In this method, the image segmentation was converted into an optimization problem. The fitness function containing neighbor information was set up based on the gray information and the neighbor relations between the pixels described by the improved two-dimensional histogram. By making use of the global searching ability of the predator-prey particle swarm optimization, the optimal cluster center could be obtained by iterative optimization, and the image segmentation could be accomplished. The simulation results show that the segmentation accuracy ratio of the proposed method is above 99%. The proposed algorithm has strong anti-noise capability, high clustering accuracy and good segment effect, indicating that it is an effective algorithm for image segmentation.

A New Wavelet-Based Document Image Segmentation Scheme

The document image segmentation is very useful for printing, faxing and data processing. An algorithm is developed for segmenting and classifying document image. Feature used for classification is based on the histogram distribution pattern of different image classes. The important attribute of the algorithm is using wavelet correlation image to enhance raw image's pattern, so the classification accuracy is improved. In this paper document image is divided into four types; background, photo, text and graph. Firstly, the document image background has been distingusished easily by former normally method;secondly, three image types will be distinguished by their typical histograms, in order to make histograms feature clearer, each resolution's HH wavelet subimage is used to add to the raw image at their resolution. At last, the photo, text and praph have been devided according to how the feature fit to the Laplacian distrbution by 2 and L . Simulations show that classification accuracy is significantly improved. The comparison with related shows that our algorithm provides both lower classification error rates and better visual results.

The Method of Flotation Froth Image Segmentation Based on Threshold Level Set

A novel flotation froth image segmentation based on threshold level set method is put forward in view of the problem of over-segmentation and under-segmentation which occurs when the existing method segmented the flotation froth images. Firstly, the proposed method adopts histogram equalization to improve the contrast of the image, and then chooses the upper threshold and lower threshold from grey value of histogram of the image equalization, and complete image segmentation using the level set method. In this paper, the model which integrates edge with region level set model is utilized, and the speed energy term is introduced to segment the target. Experimental results show that the proposed method has better segmentation results and higher segmentation efficiency on the images with under-segmentation and incorrect segmentation, and it is meaningful for ore dressing industrial.