Prof.R.

SIVAKUMAR

DIGITAL IMAGE
PROCESSING
MODULE -1 DIGITAL IMAGE
FUNDAMENTALS
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

References

1. Rafael C. Gonzalez and Richard E. Woods, “Digital Image

Processing”, Pearson Education, Inc., Second Edition, 2004.

2. Anil K. Jain, “Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing”,

Prentice Hall of India, 2002.

3. William K. Pratt, “Digital Image Processing”, 2nd Edition,

Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1991.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

WHAT IS AN IMAGE?
Picture, photograph
Visual data
Usually two or three dimensional

What is a digital image?

An image which is “discretized,”, i.e., defined on a
discrete grid
Two-dimensional collection of light values (or gray
values)
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

BASIC TERMINOLOGY
WHAT IS A DIGITAL IMAGE?
• A REPRESENTATION OF THE ORIGINAL IMAGE BY A
DISCRETE SET OF DATA POINTS
• EACH OF THESE DATA POINTS IS CALLED A PICTURE
ELEMENT, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS A “PIXEL”
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Digital Image Generation

Generating a digital image
• Place a regular 2D grid over an image and read the colour value
• at the intersections of the grid => set of data points for that image
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

What is digital image processing?

Digital image processing is the study of representation
and manipulation of pictorial information by a
computer.
Improve pictorial information for better clarity
(human interpretation)
Automatic machine processing of scene data
(interpretation by a machine/non-human, storage,
transmission)
What is image interpetation?
Assign meaning to an ensemble of recognized
objects
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Digital
Image Digital image = a multidimensional
array of numbers (such as intensity image)
or vectors (such as color image)

Each component in the image

called pixel associates with
the pixel value (a single number in
the case of intensity images or a
vector in the case of color images).
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Important steps in a typical image processing system

Step 1: Image acquisition

Capturing visual data by an image sensor

Step 2: Discretization / digitalization; Quantization ; Compression

Convert data into discrete form; compress for
efficient storage/transmission

Step 3: Image enhancement and restoration

Improving image quality (low contrast, blur noise)

Step 4: Image segmentation

Partition image into objects or constituent parts
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Chapter 1: Introduction
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Chapter 1: Introduction
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

✔IMAGE ENHANCEMENT AND RESTORATION

BOTH INVOLVE TECHNIQUES TO MAKE A
BETTER IMAGE

✔IMAGE COMPRESSION INVOLVES DEVELOPMENT

OF TECHNIQUES TO MAKE SMALLER FILES,
WHILE STILL RETAINING HIGH QUALITY IMAGES
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

ELEMENTS OF VISUAL
PERCEPTION
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

ELEMENTS OF VISUAL PERCEPTION

Human Visual Perception

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

THE HUMAN EYE

• DIAMETER: 20 MM

• 3 MEMBRANES ENCLOSE THE EYE

• CORNEA & SCLERA
• CHOROID
• RETINA
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

THE CHOROID

• THE CHOROID CONTAINS BLOOD VESSELS FOR

EYE NUTRITION AND IS HEAVILY PIGMENTED TO
REDUCE EXTRANEOUS LIGHT ENTRANCE AND
BACKSCATTER.

• IT IS DIVIDED INTO THE CILIARY BODY AND THE

IRIS DIAPHRAGM, WHICH CONTROLS THE AMOUNT
OF LIGHT THAT ENTERS THE PUPIL (2 MM ~ 8 MM).
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

THE LENS

• THE LENS IS MADE UP OF FIBROUS CELLS AND IS

SUSPENDED BY FIBERS THAT ATTACH IT TO THE CILIARY
BODY.

• IT IS SLIGHTLY YELLOW AND ABSORBS APPROX. 8% OF

THE VISIBLE LIGHT SPECTRUM.

• THE LENS CONTAINS 60-70% WATER, 6% OF FAT.

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

THE RETINA

• THE RETINA LINES THE ENTIRE POSTERIOR PORTION.

• DISCRETE LIGHT RECEPTORS ARE DISTRIBUTED OVER

THE SURFACE OF THE RETINA:

• CONES (6-7 MILLION PER EYE) AND

• RODS (75-150 MILLION PER EYE)
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

CONES

• CONES ARE LOCATED IN THE FOVEA AND ARE

SENSITIVE TO COLOR.
• EACH ONE IS CONNECTED TO ITS OWN NERVE
END.
• CONE VISION IS CALLED PHOTOPIC (OR BRIGHT-
LIGHT VISION OR DAY VISION).

• THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF CONES: RED,

GREEN, AND BLUE
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

RODS

✔ RODS ARE GIVING A GENERAL, OVERALL PICTURE OF THE

FIELD OF VIEW

✔ THEY SEE ONLY BRIGHTNESS (NOT COLOR) AND ARE NOT

INVOLVED IN COLOR VISION.

• SEVERAL RODS ARE CONNECTED TO A SINGLE NERVE

AND ARE SENSITIVE TO LOW LEVELS OF ILLUMINATION
(SCOTOPIC OR DIM-LIGHT VISION OR NIGHT VISION).
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

MESOPIC VISION

• INTERMEDIATE REGION OF ILLUMINATION – BETWEEN

DIM AND BRIGHT LIGHT

• BOTH RODS AND CONES ARE ACTIVE

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

RECEPTOR DISTRIBUTION

• THE DISTRIBUTION OF RECEPTORS IS RADIALLY

SYMMETRIC ABOUT THE FOVEA.

• CONES ARE MOST DENSE IN THE CENTER OF THE FOVEA

WHILE RODS INCREASE IN DENSITY FROM THE CENTER
OUT TO APPROXIMATELY 20% OFF AXIS AND THEN
DECREASE.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Cones & Rods

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

THE FOVEA

• THE FOVEA IS CIRCULAR (1.5 MM IN DIAMETER) BUT

CAN BE ASSUMED TO BE A SQUARE SENSOR ARRAY
(1.5 MM X 1.5 MM).

• THE DENSITY OF CONES: 150,000 ELEMENTS/MM 2 ~

337,000 FOR THE FOVEA.

• A CCD IMAGING CHIP OF MEDIUM RESOLUTION

NEEDS 5 MM X 5 MM FOR THIS NUMBER OF
ELEMENTS
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

BLIND SPOT

• BLIND SPOT IS THE REGION OF EMERGENCE OF THE

OPTIC NERVE FROM THE EYE

• PLACE ON THE RETINA WHERE OPTIC NERVE CONNECTS,

AND WHICH CONSISTS OF NO LIGHT SENSORS
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

IMAGE FORMATION IN THE EYE

• THE EYE LENS (IF COMPARED TO AN OPTICAL LENS) IS

FLEXIBLE.

• IT GETS CONTROLLED BY THE FIBERS OF THE CILIARY

BODY AND TO FOCUS ON DISTANT OBJECTS IT GETS
FLATTER (AND VICE VERSA).
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

IMAGE FORMATION IN THE EYE

• DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CENTER OF THE LENS AND THE

RETINA (FOCAL LENGTH):
• VARIES FROM 17 MM TO 14 MM (REFRACTIVE POWER OF
LENS GOES FROM MINIMUM TO MAXIMUM).

• OBJECTS FARTHER THAN 3 M USE MINIMUM REFRACTIVE

LENS POWERS (AND VICE VERSA).
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

IMAGE FORMATION IN THE EYE

• EXAMPLE:
• CALCULATION OF RETINAL IMAGE OF AN OBJECT
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

IMAGE FORMATION IN THE EYE

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

IMAGE FORMATION IN THE EYE

• PERCEPTION TAKES PLACE BY THE RELATIVE EXCITATION

OF LIGHT RECEPTORS.

• THESE RECEPTORS TRANSFORM RADIANT ENERGY INTO

ELECTRICAL IMPULSES THAT ARE ULTIMATELY DECODED
BY THE BRAIN.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

LUMINANCE
OR
INTENSITY

• EMITTING OR REFLECTING LIGHT FROM THE OBJECT

• THE LUMINANCE OF AN OBJECT IS INDEPENDENT OF THE

LUMINANCE OF THE SURROUNDING OBJECTS
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

BRIGHTNESS

• BRIGHTNESS IS THE PERCEIVED LUMINANCE

• DEPENDS ON THE LUMINANCE OF THE SURROUND

• TWO OBJECTS WITH DIFFERENT SURROUNDINGS COULD

HAVE IDENTICAL LUMINANCE BUT DIFFERENT
BRIGHTNESS
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

CONTRAST

• CONTRAST IS THE DIFFERENCE IN VISUAL

PROPERTIES THAT MAKES AN OBJECT (OR ITS
REPRESENTATION IN AN IMAGE) DISTINGUISHABLE
FROM OTHER OBJECTS AND THE BACKGROUND

• CONTRAST IS DETERMINED BY THE DIFFERENCE IN

THE COLOR AND BRIGHTNESS OF THE LIGHT
REFLECTED OR EMITTED BY AN OBJECT AND OTHER
OBJECTS WITHIN THE SAME FIELD OF VIEW .
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Brightness Adaptation of Human Eye (cont.)

Simultaneous contrast. All small squares have exactly the same

intensity
but they appear progressively darker as background becomes lighter.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

HUE
• THE HUE OF A COLOR REFERS TO ITS “REDNESS”,
“GREENNESS” AND SO ON.

• A HUE REFERS TO THE GRADATION OF COLOR REFERS TO THE

GRADATION OF COLOR WITHIN THE OPTICAL SPECTRUM, OR
VISIBLE SPECTRUM, OF LIGHT.

• "HUE" MAY ALSO REFER TO A PARTICULAR COLOR WITHIN

THIS SPECTRUM, AS DEFINED BY ITS DOMINANT WAVELENGTH
,

• OR THE CENTRAL TENDENCY OF ITS COMBINED

WAVELENGTHS. FOR EXAMPLE, A LIGHT WAVE WITH A
CENTRAL TENDENCY WITHIN 565-590 NMOR THE CENTRAL
TENDENCY OF ITS COMBINED WAVELENGTHS. FOR EXAMPLE,
A LIGHT WAVE WITH A CENTRAL TENDENCY WITHIN 565-590
NM WILL BE YELLOW.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SATURATION

• SATURATION REFERS TO THE INTENSITY OF A

SPECIFIC HUE.

• IN ART OR WHEN WORKING WITH COLORS,

SATURATION IS THE AMOUNT OF COLOR A CERTAIN
COLOR HAS. FOR EXAMPLE, BLACK AND WHITE
HAVE NO SATURATION AND BRIGHT RED HAS 100%
SATURATION
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

MACH BAND EFFECT

• THE SPATIAL INTERACTION FROM AN OBJECT AND ITS

SURROUNDINGS CREATES A PHENOMENON CALLED
MACH BAND EFFECT.

• THE VISUAL SYSTEM TENDS TO UNDERSHOOT OR

OVERSHOOT AROUND THE BOUNDARY OF REGIONS OF
DIFFERENT INTENSITIES
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Brightness Adaptation of Human Eye (cont.)

A
B
Intensit
y

Positio
n
In area A, brightness perceived is darker while in area B
is
brighter. This phenomenon is called Mach Band Effect.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

MACH BAND EFFECT

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

• ALTHOUGH THE INTENSITY OF THE STRIPES IS

CONSTANT, WE ACTUALLY PERCEIVE A BRIGHTNESS
PATTERN THAT IS STRONGLY SCALLOPED, ESPECIALLY
NEAR THE BOUNDARIES

• THESE SCALLOPED BANDS ARE CALLED MACH BANDS

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

RGB Model

• An additive colour model, based on three components:

red(R), green (G) and Blue (B).
• 8 bits are usually used for each colour (=> 24 bits total)

• These can be stored (in memory) as 3 separate colour

planes ....
• ... or in an ‘interlaced form’, with each pixel represented
with 3 bytes (24bits) sequentially.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

But!!!!!

Not all colours can be represented by the RGB system

However

It is probably good enough to fool the human vision system

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

The RGB Cube

B
Blue Cyan

Magenta

G
Green
Red Yellow

R
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

The HSI Model (an alternative to RGB)

• Hue, H, specifies the dominant pure colour perceived

by the observer (e.g. red, yellow, blue)
[i.e. a representation of the frequency/wavelength]
• Saturation, S, specifies the degree to which a pure
colour has been diluted by white light to produce
observed colour.
• Intensity, I, is related to the perceived brightness of
the colour.

N.B. Decoupling (separating) intensity from colour is

very useful in image manipulation and analysis as
increased/decreased lighting in a scene (more or less)
only effect this parameter.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR
The HSI Cone
Intensity
White

Hue
Green Yellow
Cyan Red
Saturation
Blue Magenta

Black
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

A SIMPLE IMAGE MODEL

• IMAGE: A 2-D LIGHT-INTENSITY FUNCTION F(X,Y)

• THE VALUE OF F AT (X,Y) 🡪 THE INTENSITY (BRIGHTNESS)

OF THE IMAGE AT THAT POINT

• 0 < F(X,Y) < ∞

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Digital Image Acquisition

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

A SIMPLE IMAGE MODEL

• NATURE OF F(X,Y):

• THE AMOUNT OF SOURCE LIGHT INCIDENT ON THE SCENE

BEING VIEWED

• THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT REFLECTED BY THE OBJECTS IN THE

SCENE
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

A SIMPLE IMAGE MODEL

• ILLUMINATION & REFLECTANCE COMPONENTS:

• ILLUMINATION: I(X,Y)
• REFLECTANCE: R(X,Y)

• F(X,Y) = I(X,Y) ⋅ R(X,Y)

• 0 < I(X,Y) < ∞

AND 0 < R(X,Y) < 1
(FROM TOTAL ABSORPTION TO TOTAL
REFLECTANCE)
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

A SIMPLE IMAGE MODEL

• SAMPLE VALUES OF R(X,Y):

• 0.01: BLACK VELVET
• 0.93: SNOW

• SAMPLE VALUES OF I(X,Y):

• 9000 FOOT-CANDLES: SUNNY DAY
• 1000 FOOT-CANDLES: CLOUDY DAY
• 0.01 FOOT-CANDLES: FULL MOON
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Create an image

To create a digital image, we need to convert the continuously sensed

data into digital form.
This involves:
Sampling:
Digitizing the coordinate values (resolution)
Depends on density of sensor in an array
Limited by optical resolution
Quantization (bits/pixel)
•Digitizing the amplitude values
Pixel: short for picture element
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

• THE SPATIAL AND AMPLITUDE DIGITIZATION OF F(X,Y) IS

CALLED:

• IMAGE SAMPLING WHEN IT REFERS TO SPATIAL

COORDINATES (X,Y) AND

• GRAY-LEVEL QUANTIZATION WHEN IT REFERS TO THE

AMPLITUDE.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Digital Image
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Sampling and Quantization

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

A Digital Image
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

Digital Image
Image Elements
(Pixels)
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

• THE DIGITIZATION PROCESS REQUIRES DECISIONS

ABOUT:

• VALUES FOR N,M (WHERE N X M: THE IMAGE ARRAY)

AND

• THE NUMBER OF DISCRETE GRAY LEVELS ALLOWED FOR

EACH PIXEL.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

• USUALLY, IN DIP THESE QUANTITIES ARE

INTEGER POWERS OF TWO:
N=2N M=2M AND G=2K

NUMBER OF GRAY
LEVELS

• ANOTHER ASSUMPTION IS THAT THE DISCRETE

LEVELS ARE EQUALLY SPACED BETWEEN 0 AND
L-1 IN THE GRAY SCALE.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Example
s
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Example
s
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Example
s
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Example
s
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

• IF B IS THE NUMBER OF BITS REQUIRED TO STORE A

DIGITIZED IMAGE THEN:

• B = N X M X K (IF M=N, THEN B=N2K)

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Storage
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

• HOW MANY SAMPLES AND GRAY LEVELS ARE REQUIRED

FOR A GOOD APPROXIMATION?

• RESOLUTION (THE DEGREE OF DISCERNIBLE DETAIL) OF AN

IMAGE DEPENDS ON SAMPLE NUMBER AND GRAY LEVEL
NUMBER.
• I.E. THE MORE THESE PARAMETERS ARE INCREASED, THE
CLOSER THE DIGITIZED ARRAY APPROXIMATES THE
ORIGINAL IMAGE.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

• HOW MANY SAMPLES AND GRAY LEVELS ARE REQUIRED

FOR A GOOD APPROXIMATION? (CONT.)

• BUT: STORAGE & PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS INCREASE

RAPIDLY AS A FUNCTION OF N, M, AND K
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

• DIFFERENT VERSIONS (IMAGES) OF THE SAME OBJECT

CAN BE GENERATED THROUGH:

• VARYING N, M NUMBERS
• VARYING K (NUMBER OF BITS)
• VARYING BOTH
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

SAMPLING & QUANTIZATION

• CONCLUSIONS:
• QUALITY OF IMAGES INCREASES AS N & K INCREASE
• SOMETIMES, FOR FIXED N, THE QUALITY IMPROVED BY
DECREASING K (INCREASED CONTRAST)
• FOR IMAGES WITH LARGE AMOUNTS OF DETAIL, FEW
GRAY LEVELS ARE NEEDED
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

DITHERING

• FULL-COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS MAY CONTAIN AN ALMOST INFINITE

RANGE OF COLOR VALUES

• DITHERING IS THE ATTEMPT BY A COMPUTER PROGRAM TO

APPROXIMATE A COLOR FROM A MIXTURE OF OTHER COLORS
WHEN THE REQUIRED COLOR IS NOT AVAILABLE

• DITHERING IS THE MOST COMMON MEANS OF REDUCING THE

COLOR RANGE OF IMAGES DOWN TO THE 256 (OR FEWER) COLORS
SEEN IN 8-BIT GIF IMAGES
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

• MOST IMAGES ARE DITHERED IN A DIFFUSION OR

RANDOMIZED PATTERN TO DIMINISH THE HARSH
TRANSITION FROM ONE COLOR TO ANOTHER

• BUT DITHERING ALSO REDUCES THE OVERALL

SHARPNESS OF AN IMAGE, AND IT OFTEN INTRODUCES
A NOTICEABLE GRAINY PATTERN IN THE IMAGE

• THIS LOSS OF IMAGE DETAIL IS ESPECIALLY APPARENT

WHEN FULL-COLOR PHOTOS ARE DITHERED DOWN TO
THE 216-COLOR BROWSER-SAFE PALETTE.
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

TWO ­DIMENSIONAL
MATHEMATICAL PRELIMINARIES
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Review: Matrices and Vectors

Definitions (Con’t)

A column vector is an m × 1 matrix:

A row vector is a 1 × n matrix:

A column vector can be expressed as a row vector by using

the transpose:
73
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Review: Matrices and Vectors

Some Basic Matrix Operations

• The sum of two matrices A and B (of equal dimension),

denoted A + B, is the matrix with elements aij + bij.
• The difference of two matrices, A− B, has elements aij − bij.
• The product, AB, of m×n matrix A and p×q matrix B, is an
m×q matrix C whose (i,j)-th element is formed by
multiplying the entries across the ith row of A times the
entries down the jth column of B; that is,

74
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

Review: Matrices and Vectors

Some Basic Matrix Operations (Con’t)

The inner product (also called dot product) of two

vectors

is defined
as

Note that the inner product is a scalar. 75

Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

TOEPLITZ MATRIX, CIRCULANT MATRIX

• IT HAS A CONSTANT ELEMENTS ALONG THE MAIN

DIAGONAL AND THE SUB DIAGONALS

• CIRCULANT MATRIX – EACH OF ITS ROWS (OR COLUMNS)

IS A CIRCULAR SHIFT OF THE PREVIOUS ROW(OR
COLUMN)

76
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

ORTHOGONAL AND UNITARY

MATRICES

• AN ORTHOGONAL MATRIX IS SUCH THAT ITS INVERSE IS

EQUAL TO ITS TRANSPOSE

T
A-1 = A

• A MATRIX IS CALLED UNITARY IF ITS INVERSE IS EQUAL TO

ITS CONJUGATE TRANSPOSE

T
A-1 = A*
77
Prof.R.SIVAKUMAR

BLOCK MATRIX

• ANY MATRIX WHOSE ELEMENTS ARE MATRICES

THEMSELVES IS CALLED A BLOCK MATRIX.

78