A Color Image Segmentation algorithm Based on Region Growing
Jun Tang
School of Electronic Engineering
Xi'an Shiyou University Xi'an China
tangjun@xsyu.edu.cn
Abstract- Image segmentation is a classic subject in the field of
image processing and also is a hotspot and focus of image
processing techniques. With the improvement of computer
processing capabilities and the increased application of color
image, the color image segmentation are more and more
concerned by the researchers. Color image segmentation
methods can be seen as an extension of the gray image
segmentation method in the color images, but many of the
original gray image segmentation methods can not be directly
applied to color images. This requires to improve the method
of original gray image segmentation method according to the
color image which have the feature of rich information or
research a new image segmentation method it specially used in
color image segmentation. This article proposes a color image
segmentation method of automatic seed region growing on
basis of the region with the combination of the watershed
algorithm with seed region growing algorithm which based on
the traditional seed region growing algorithm.
Keywords-Color image segmentation; watershed algorithm;
seed region growing algorithm.
I. INTRODUCTION
People are only interested in certain parts of the image in
the research and application of the image. These parts are
frequently referred as a target or foreground (other part is
called background), they generally correspond to the image
in a specific and unique nature of the area. It needs to extract
and separate them in order to identify and analyze object, on
this basis it will be possible to further use for the target.
Image segmentation is a technique and process which divide
the image into different feature of region and extract out the
interested target. Here features can be pixel grayscale, color,
texture, etc. Pre-defined targets can correspond to a single
region or multiple regions. To illustrate the level of the
image segmentation in image processing, we have
introduced "image engineering" concept ", it bring the
involved theory, methods, algorithms, tools, equipment of
image segmentation into an overall framework [1]. Image
Engineering is a new subject for research and application of
image field, its content is very abundant. According to the
different of the abstract degree and research methods, it can
be divided into three levels: Image processing, image
analysis and image understanding. As shown in Figure 1
Figure 1. The three-level diagram of image engineering
Image processing is emphasis on the transformation
between the images and improves the visual effects of
image. Image analysis is mainly monitor and measure the
interested targets in the image in order to get its objective
information as a result build up a description of the image,
the key point of the image understanding is further study on
the nature of each target and the linkage of each other as well
obtain an explanation of objective scenario for original
image as result guide and plan to action.
Image processing, image analysis and image
understanding have different operational, refer to Figure 1.
Image processing is relatively low-level operations; it is
mainly operated on the pixel-level. Then image analysis
enters the middle-level, it focuses on measuring, expression
and description of target. Image Understanding is mainly
high-level operation, essentially it focus on the operation and
illation of data symbol which abstracts from the description
[13].
Image segmentation is a key step from the image
processing to image analysis, it occupy an important place.
On the one hand, it is the basis of target expression and has
important effect on the feature measurement. On the other
hand, as the image segmentation, the target expression based
on segmentation, the feature extraction and parameter
measurement that converts the original image to more
abstract and more compact form, it is possible to make
high-level image analysis and understanding.
In the actual production life, the application of image
segmentation is also very wide and almost appeared in all
related areas of image processing as well as involved various
types of image [12]. For example, satellite image processing
in the application of remote sensing; the brain MR image
analysis in the applications of medicine; the plates of illegal
vehicle region segmentation in the traffic image analysis; the
image region of interest extraction in the object-oriented
image compression and content-based image retrieval.
In these applications, image segmentation is usually used
for image analysis, identification and compress code, etc.
V6-634
978-1-4244-6349-7/10/$26.00
c
2010 IEEE