Research Paper Implementation (Image Processing) - image-processing

I'm trying to implement this paper on my own, but there're some parts I don't fully understand.
UIumbra has three channels, since it's the result of multiplication between I and n, where I is an original (color) image.
Q. Step 4 requires a binarization image B1 from UIumbra. It uses an integral image technique for binarization, which is equivalent to OpenCV's adaptiveThreshold. Unfortunately, adaptiveThreshold() takes a grayscale image. Is there any method to convert UIumbra to grayscale or does cv2.cvtCOLOR(UI, COLOR_BGR2GRAY) suffice?
Q. LBWF is a binary version of LWF. LWF takes and returns a grayscale image. How do you make a binary version? (ex. binarize the input?)
The paper doesn't explain those details, so I'm having troubles.
(I did send an email to the author, waiting for the answer. Meanwhile, I want to hear your thoughts)
Any help or idea is appreciated.

Related

How to describe algorithm in C

I'm learning Image processing. My problem is Segmentation in RGB vector space. How to describe the Euclidean distance(Fomula 6.7-1 chap6 in Image processing- Gonzalez) to segment RGB in C programming. Thanks.
Minimum requirements to solve this problem:
1) learn C (to at least an medium-advanced level)
presuming that you're not going to decode jpegs or whatever image format you have from scratch:
2) learn how to use libraries in C.
3) find a library that allows you to read and write the image file format at hand
4) implement the algorithm and apply it to the image data

Image format in segmentation via neural networks

I am doing segmentation via deep learning in pytorch. My dataset is a .raw/.mhd format ultrasound images.
I want to input my dataset into the system via data loader.
I faced few important questions:
Does changing the format of the dataset to either .png or .jpg make the segmentation inaccurate?(I think I lost some information in this way!)
Which format is less data lossy?
How should I make a dumpy array if I don't convert the original image format, i.e., .raw/.mhd?
How should I load this dataset?
Knowing nothing about raw and mhd formats, I can give partial answers.
Firstly, jpg is lossy and png is not. So, you're surely losing information in jpg. png is lossless for "normal" images - 1, 3 or 4 channel, with 8 bit precision in each (perhaps also 16 bits are also supported, don't quote me on that). I know nothing about ultrasound images, but if they use higher precision than that, even png will be lossy.
Secondly, I don't know what mhd is and what raw means in the context of ultrasound images. That being said, a simple google search reveals some package for reading the former to numpy.
Finally, to load the dataset, you can use the ImageFolder class from torchvision. You need to write a custom function which loads an image given its path (for instance using the package mentioned above) and pass it to the loader keyword argument.

Improve image quality

I need to improve image quality, from low quality to high hd quality. I am using OpenCV libraries. I experimented a lot with GaussianBlur(), Laplacian(), transformation functions, filter functions etc, but all I could succeed is to convert image to hd resolution and keep the same quality. Is it possible to do this? Do I need to implement my own algorithm or is there a way how it's done? I will really appreciate any kind of help. Thanks in advance.
I used this link for my reference. It has other interesting filters that you can play with.
If you are using C++:
detailEnhance(Mat src, Mat dst, float sigma_s=10, float sigma_r=0.15f)
If you are using python:
dst = cv2.detailEnhance(src, sigma_s=10, sigma_r=0.15)
The variable 'sigma_s' determines how big the neighbourhood of pixels must be to perform filtering.
The variable 'sigma_r' determines how the different colours within the neighbourhood of pixels will be averaged with each other. Its range is from: 0 - 1. A smaller value means similar colors will be averaged out while different colors remain as they are.
Since you are looking for sharpness in the image, I would suggest you keep the kernel as minimum as possible.
Here is the result I obtained for a sample image:
1. Original image:
2. Sharpened image for lower sigma_r value:
3. Sharpened image for higher sigma_r value:
Check the above mentioned link for more information.
How about applying Super Resolution in OpenCV? A reference article with more details can be found here: https://learnopencv.com/super-resolution-in-opencv/
So basically you will need to have the Python dependency opencv-contrib-python installed, together with a working version of opencv-python.
There are different techniques for the Super Resolution in OpenCV you can choose from, including EDSR, ESPCN, FSRCNN, and LapSRN. Code examples in both Python and C++ have been included in the tutorial article as well for easy reference.
A correction is needed
dst = cv2.detailEnhance(src, sigma_s=10, sigma_r=0.15)
using kernel will give error.
+1 to kris stern answer,
If you are looking for practical implementation of super resolution using pretrained model in OpenCV, have a look at below notebook also video describing details.
https://github.com/pankajr141/experiments/blob/master/Reasoning/ComputerVision/super_resolution_enhancing_image_quality_using_pretrained_models.ipynb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrWIYWO4bac&list=UUplf_LWNn0a9ubnKCZ-95YQ&index=4
Below is a sample code using opencv
model_pretrained = cv2.dnn_superres.DnnSuperResImpl_create()
# setting up the model initialization
model_pretrained.readModel(filemodel_filepath)
model_pretrained.setModel(modelname, scale)
# prediction or upscaling
img_upscaled = model_pretrained.upsample(img_small)

OpenCV Multilevel B-Spline Approximation

Hi (sorry for my english) .. i'm working in a project for University in this project i need to use the MBA (Multilevel B-Spline Approximation) algorithm to get some points (control points) of a image to use in other operations.
I'm reading a lot of papers about this algorithm, and i think i understand, but i can't writing.
The idea is: Read a image, process a image (OpenCV), then get control points of the image, use this points.
So the problem here is:
The algorithm use a set of points {(x,y,z)} , this set of points are approximated with a surface generated with the control points obtained from MBA. the set of points {(x,y,z)} represents de data we need to approximate (the image)..
So, the image is in a cv::Mat format , how can transform this format to an ordinary array to simply access to the data an manipulate...
Here are one paper with an explanation of the method:
(Paper) REGULARIZED MULTILEVEL B-SPLINE REGISTRATION
(Paper)Scattered Data Interpolation with Multilevel B-splines
(Matlab)MBA
If someone can help, maybe a guideline, idea or anything will be appreciate ..
Thanks in advance.
EDIT: Finally i wrote the algorithm in C++ using armadillo and OpenCV ...
Well i'm using armadillo a C++ linear algebra library to works with matrix for the algorithm

Simple and fast method to compare images for similarity

I need a simple and fast way to compare two images for similarity. I.e. I want to get a high value if they contain exactly the same thing but may have some slightly different background and may be moved / resized by a few pixel.
(More concrete, if that matters: The one picture is an icon and the other picture is a subarea of a screenshot and I want to know if that subarea is exactly the icon or not.)
I have OpenCV at hand but I am still not that used to it.
One possibility I thought about so far: Divide both pictures into 10x10 cells and for each of those 100 cells, compare the color histogram. Then I can set some made up threshold value and if the value I get is above that threshold, I assume that they are similar.
I haven't tried it yet how well that works but I guess it would be good enough. The images are already pretty much similar (in my use case), so I can use a pretty high threshold value.
I guess there are dozens of other possible solutions for this which would work more or less (as the task itself is quite simple as I only want to detect similarity if they are really very similar). What would you suggest?
There are a few very related / similar questions about obtaining a signature/fingerprint/hash from an image:
OpenCV / SURF How to generate a image hash / fingerprint / signature out of the descriptors?
Image fingerprint to compare similarity of many images
Near-Duplicate Image Detection
OpenCV: Fingerprint Image and Compare Against Database.
more, more, more, more, more, more, more
Also, I stumbled upon these implementations which have such functions to obtain a fingerprint:
pHash
imgSeek (GitHub repo) (GPL) based on the paper Fast Multiresolution Image Querying
image-match. Very similar to what I was searching for. Similar to pHash, based on An image signature for any kind of image, Goldberg et al. Uses Python and Elasticsearch.
iqdb
ImageHash. supports pHash.
Image Deduplicator (imagededup). Supports CNN, PHash, DHash, WHash, AHash.
Some discussions about perceptual image hashes: here
A bit offtopic: There exists many methods to create audio fingerprints. MusicBrainz, a web-service which provides fingerprint-based lookup for songs, has a good overview in their wiki. They are using AcoustID now. This is for finding exact (or mostly exact) matches. For finding similar matches (or if you only have some snippets or high noise), take a look at Echoprint. A related SO question is here. So it seems like this is solved for audio. All these solutions work quite good.
A somewhat more generic question about fuzzy search in general is here. E.g. there is locality-sensitive hashing and nearest neighbor search.
Can the screenshot or icon be transformed (scaled, rotated, skewed ...)? There are quite a few methods on top of my head that could possibly help you:
Simple euclidean distance as mentioned by #carlosdc (doesn't work with transformed images and you need a threshold).
(Normalized) Cross Correlation - a simple metrics which you can use for comparison of image areas. It's more robust than the simple euclidean distance but doesn't work on transformed images and you will again need a threshold.
Histogram comparison - if you use normalized histograms, this method works well and is not affected by affine transforms. The problem is determining the correct threshold. It is also very sensitive to color changes (brightness, contrast etc.). You can combine it with the previous two.
Detectors of salient points/areas - such as MSER (Maximally Stable Extremal Regions), SURF or SIFT. These are very robust algorithms and they might be too complicated for your simple task. Good thing is that you do not have to have an exact area with only one icon, these detectors are powerful enough to find the right match. A nice evaluation of these methods is in this paper: Local invariant feature detectors: a survey.
Most of these are already implemented in OpenCV - see for example the cvMatchTemplate method (uses histogram matching): http://dasl.mem.drexel.edu/~noahKuntz/openCVTut6.html. The salient point/area detectors are also available - see OpenCV Feature Detection.
I face the same issues recently, to solve this problem(simple and fast algorithm to compare two images) once and for all, I contribute an img_hash module to opencv_contrib, you can find the details from this link.
img_hash module provide six image hash algorithms, quite easy to use.
Codes example
origin lena
blur lena
resize lena
shift lena
#include <opencv2/core.hpp>
#include <opencv2/core/ocl.hpp>
#include <opencv2/highgui.hpp>
#include <opencv2/img_hash.hpp>
#include <opencv2/imgproc.hpp>
#include <iostream>
void compute(cv::Ptr<cv::img_hash::ImgHashBase> algo)
{
auto input = cv::imread("lena.png");
cv::Mat similar_img;
//detect similiar image after blur attack
cv::GaussianBlur(input, similar_img, {7,7}, 2, 2);
cv::imwrite("lena_blur.png", similar_img);
cv::Mat hash_input, hash_similar;
algo->compute(input, hash_input);
algo->compute(similar_img, hash_similar);
std::cout<<"gaussian blur attack : "<<
algo->compare(hash_input, hash_similar)<<std::endl;
//detect similar image after shift attack
similar_img.setTo(0);
input(cv::Rect(0,10, input.cols,input.rows-10)).
copyTo(similar_img(cv::Rect(0,0,input.cols,input.rows-10)));
cv::imwrite("lena_shift.png", similar_img);
algo->compute(similar_img, hash_similar);
std::cout<<"shift attack : "<<
algo->compare(hash_input, hash_similar)<<std::endl;
//detect similar image after resize
cv::resize(input, similar_img, {120, 40});
cv::imwrite("lena_resize.png", similar_img);
algo->compute(similar_img, hash_similar);
std::cout<<"resize attack : "<<
algo->compare(hash_input, hash_similar)<<std::endl;
}
int main()
{
using namespace cv::img_hash;
//disable opencl acceleration may(or may not) boost up speed of img_hash
cv::ocl::setUseOpenCL(false);
//if the value after compare <= 8, that means the images
//very similar to each other
compute(ColorMomentHash::create());
//there are other algorithms you can try out
//every algorithms have their pros and cons
compute(AverageHash::create());
compute(PHash::create());
compute(MarrHildrethHash::create());
compute(RadialVarianceHash::create());
//BlockMeanHash support mode 0 and mode 1, they associate to
//mode 1 and mode 2 of PHash library
compute(BlockMeanHash::create(0));
compute(BlockMeanHash::create(1));
}
In this case, ColorMomentHash give us best result
gaussian blur attack : 0.567521
shift attack : 0.229728
resize attack : 0.229358
Pros and cons of each algorithm
The performance of img_hash is good too
Speed comparison with PHash library(100 images from ukbench)
If you want to know the recommend thresholds for these algorithms, please check this post(http://qtandopencv.blogspot.my/2016/06/introduction-to-image-hash-module-of.html).
If you are interesting about how do I measure the performance of img_hash modules(include speed and different attacks), please check this link(http://qtandopencv.blogspot.my/2016/06/speed-up-image-hashing-of-opencvimghash.html).
Does the screenshot contain only the icon? If so, the L2 distance of the two images might suffice. If the L2 distance doesn't work, the next step is to try something simple and well established, like: Lucas-Kanade. Which I'm sure is available in OpenCV.
If you want to get an index about the similarity of the two pictures, I suggest you from the metrics the SSIM index. It is more consistent with the human eye. Here is an article about it: Structural Similarity Index
It is implemented in OpenCV too, and it can be accelerated with GPU: OpenCV SSIM with GPU
If you can be sure to have precise alignment of your template (the icon) to the testing region, then any old sum of pixel differences will work.
If the alignment is only going to be a tiny bit off, then you can low-pass both images with cv::GaussianBlur before finding the sum of pixel differences.
If the quality of the alignment is potentially poor then I would recommend either a Histogram of Oriented Gradients or one of OpenCV's convenient keypoint detection/descriptor algorithms (such as SIFT or SURF).
If for matching identical images - code for L2 distance
// Compare two images by getting the L2 error (square-root of sum of squared error).
double getSimilarity( const Mat A, const Mat B ) {
if ( A.rows > 0 && A.rows == B.rows && A.cols > 0 && A.cols == B.cols ) {
// Calculate the L2 relative error between images.
double errorL2 = norm( A, B, CV_L2 );
// Convert to a reasonable scale, since L2 error is summed across all pixels of the image.
double similarity = errorL2 / (double)( A.rows * A.cols );
return similarity;
}
else {
//Images have a different size
return 100000000.0; // Return a bad value
}
Fast. But not robust to changes in lighting/viewpoint etc.
Source
If you want to compare image for similarity,I suggest you to used OpenCV. In OpenCV, there are few feature matching and template matching. For feature matching, there are SURF, SIFT, FAST and so on detector. You can use this to detect, describe and then match the image. After that, you can use the specific index to find number of match between the two images.
Hu invariant moments is very powerful tool to compare two images
Hash functions are used in the undouble library to detect (near-)identical images (disclaimer: I am also the author). This is a simple and fast way to compare two or more images for similarity. It works using a multi-step process of pre-processing the images (grayscaling, normalizing, and scaling), computing the image hash, and the grouping of images based on a threshold value.

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