Unit 1

DIGITAL IMAGE FUNDAMENTALS

What Is Digital Image?

An image may be defined as a two-dimensional function, f(x, y), where x and y are spatial
(plane) coordinates, and the amplitude of „f ‟ at any pair of coordinates (x, y) is called the
intensity or gray level of the image at that point.

Fig: Coordinate convention used to represent digital images

Fig: Zoomed image, where small white boxes inside the image represent pixels

Digital image is composed of a finite number of elements referred to as picture elements, image
elements, pels, and pixels. Pixel is the term most widely used to denote the elements of a digital
image.
We can represent M*N digital image as compact matrix as shown in fig below

When x, y, and the amplitude values of f are all finite, discrete quantities, we call the image a
digital image. The field of digital image processing refers to processing digital images by
means of a digital computer.

Advantages of Digital Images

The processing of images is faster and cost effective.

Digital images can be effectively stored and efficiently transmitted from one place to another.

Whenever the image is in digital format, the reproduction of the image is both faster and cheaper.

When shooting a digital image, one can immediately see if the image is good or not.

Drawbacks of digital Images

A digital file cannot be enlarged beyond a certain size without compromising on quality

The memory required to store and process good quality images is very high.
Fundamental Steps in Digital Image Processing

Fig 1.1: Steps involved in an Digital Image Processing

Image acquisition is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical scene. The most
usual method is by digital photography with a digital camera. Generally, the image acquisition
stage involves preprocessing, such as scaling.

Image enhancement: Basically, the idea behind enhancement techniques is to bring detail
that is obscured(unclear), or simply to highlight certain features of interest in an image. A
familiar example of enhancement is when we increase the contrast of an image because “it
looks better.” It is important to keep in mind that enhancement is a very subjective (Personal
opinion) area of image processing.
Image restoration is an area that also deals with improving the appearance of an image.
However, unlike enhancement, which is subjective, image restoration is objective, in the sense
that restoration techniques tend to be based on mathematical or probabilistic models of image
degradation. Enhancement, on the other hand, is based on human subjective preferences
regarding what constitutes a “good” enhancement result.

Image restoration is the operation of taking a corrupted/noisy image and we to try to remove
the noise content, such that output will be same as original image. In Image enhancement we are
not dealing with noisy image. We take a low contrast image and try to enhance in order to make
it look better.

Color image processing is an area that has been gaining in importance because of the
significant increase in the use of digital images over the Internet.

Wavelets are the fo u nd a t io n for r e p r e s e nt i ng images in various degrees of resolution.

In particular, this material is used in this book for image data compression and for
pyramidal representation, in which images are subdivided successively into smaller regions.

Compression as t h e n a m e implies, deals with techniques for reducing the storage required to
save an image, or the bandwidth required to transmit it.

Morphological processing is useful for extracting image components that are useful in the
representation and description of shape.

Segmentation procedures partition an image into its constituent parts or objects. In general,
autonomous segmentation is one of the most difficult tasks in digital image processing. Image
segmentation is typically used locate objects and boundaries (lines, curves etc) in image.

Representation and description there are two types of data representation. (i) Boundary
representation (ii) Regional representation. Boundary representation is appropriate when the
focus is on external shape characteristics, (eg) faces, corners. Regional representation is
appropriate when the focus is on internal properties, such as texture or skeletal shape
Description, also called feature selection, deals with extracting attributes that result in some
quantitative information of interest or are basic for differentiating one class of objects from
another.

Recognition is the process that assigns a label (e.g., “vehicle”) to an object based on its
descriptors.

Knowledge Base: In a d d i t i o n to guiding the operation of each processing module,

the knowledge base also controls the interaction between modules
Components of an Image Processing System

Fig 1.2: Components involved in IP

Sensors produce an electrical output proportional to light intensity.

With reference to sensing, two elements are required to acquire digital images. The first is a
physical device(sensor) that is sensitive to the energy radiated by the object we wish to image.
The second, called a digitizer, is a device for converting the output of the physical sensing
device into digital form. For instance, in a digital video camera, the sensors produce an electrical
output proportional to light intensity. The digitizer converts these outputs to digital data.

Specialized image processing hardware usually consists of the digitizer, plus hardware that
performs other primitive operations, such a s a n a r i t h m e t i c logic u n i t (ALU). One
example of how an ALU is used is in averaging images as quickly as they are digitized, for the
purpose of noise reduction. This type of hardware sometimes is called a front-end subsystem.In
other words, this unit performs functions that require fast data throughputs (e.g., digitizing
and averaging video images at 30 frames/s) that the typical main computer cannot handle.

The computer in an image processing system is a general-purpose computer and can range
from a PC to a supercomputer. In dedicated applications, sometimes specially designed
computers are used to achieve a required level of performance, but our interest here is on
general-purpose image processing systems. In these systems, almost any well-equipped PC-
type machine is suitable for offline image processing tasks.
Software for image processing consists of specialized modules that perform specific tasks. A
well-designed package also includes the capability for the user to write code.

Mass storage capability is a must in image processing applications. An image of size 1024*1024
pixels, in which the intensity of each pixel is an 8-bit quantity, requires one megabyte of
storage space if the image is not compressed. Digital storage for image processing
applications falls into three principal categories: (1) short term storage for use during
processing, (2) on-line storage for relatively fast recall, and (3) archival storage, characterized
by infrequent access. Storage is measured in bytes (eight bits), Kbytes (one thousand bytes),
Mbytes (one million bytes), Gbytes (meaning giga, or one billion, bytes), and T bytes
(meaning tera, or one trillion, bytes).
One method of providing short-term storage is computer memory. Another is by specialized
boards, called frame buffers, that store one or more images and can be accessed rapidly, usually
at video rates (e.g., at 30 complete images per second. Online storage generally takes the form
of magnetic disks or optical-media storage.

Image displays in use today are mainly color (preferably flat screen) TV monitors

Hardcopy devices for recording images include laser printers, inkjet units. But paper is the
obvious medium of choice for written material.

Networking means exchange of information or services (eg through internet) among individuals,
groups, or institutions. Networking is almost a default function in any computer system in use
today. Because of the large amount of data inherent in image processing applications, the
key consideration in image transmission is bandwidth.
 Figure 1: Cross section of a human eye

Human Eye

In Fig 1 is shown a cross-section of human eye. The main elements of the eye are as follows:

The eye ball The eye ball is approximately spherical, with the vertical measure of it
being approximately 24 mm, slightly lesser than the horizontal width.

The field of view covers 1600(width) × 1350 height area.

Anterior of the eye has the outer coating cornea while the posterior has the
outer layer of sclera.
Cornea The cornea is a transparent, curved, refractive window through which the
light enters the eye.

This segment (typically 8 mm in radius) is linked to the larger unit, the

sclera, which extends and covers the posterior portion of the optic globe.

The cornea and sclera are connected by a ring called the limbus.

Iris, pupil The pupil is the opening at the center of the iris.

It controls the amount of light entering the eye ball. Its diameter varies from
1 to 8 mm in response to illumination changes.

In low light conditions it dilates to increase the amount of light reaching the
retina. Behind the pupil is the lens of the eye.

Lens The lens is suspended to the ciliary body by the suspensory ligament, made
up of fine transparent fibers.

The lens is transparent (has 70% water) and absorbs approximately 8% of

the visible light spectrum.

The protein in the lens absorbs the harmful infrared and ultraviolet light and
prevents damage to the eye.

Choroid Situated beneath the sclera this membrane contains blood vessels that
nourish the cells in the eye.

Like the iris, it is pigmented to prevent light from entering the eye from any
other direction other than the pupil.

Retina Beneath the choroid lies the retina, the innermost membrane of the eye
where the light entering the eye is sensed by the receptor cells. The retina
has 2 types of photoreceptor cells − rods and cones. These receptor cells
respond to light in the 330 to 730 nm wavelength range.

Fovea The central portion of the retina at the posterior part is the fovea.

It is about 1.5 mm in diameter.

Rods There about 100 million rods in the eye they help in dim-light (scotopic)
vision. Their spatial distribution is radially symmetric about the fovea, but
varies across the retina. They are distributed over a larger area in the retina.

The rods are extremely sensitive and can respond even to a single photon.
 However they are not involved in color vision.

They cannot resolve fine spatial detail despite high number because many
rods are connected to a single nerve.

Cones There are about 6 million cones in the eye. The cones help in the bright-
light (photopic) vision. These are highly sensitive to color. They are located
primarily in the fovea where the image is focused by the lens.

Each cone cell is connected to its separate nerve ending.

Hence they have the ability to resolve fine details.

Blind Spot Though the photo-receptors are distributed in radially symmetric manner
about the fovea, there is a region near the fovea where there are no
receptors. This region is called as the blind spot.

This is the region where the optic nerve emerges from the eye. Light falling
on this region cannot be sensed.

Image formation in the eye

The focal length (distance between the center lens and the retina) of the lens varies between 14
mm and 17 mm. To focus on distant objects, the controlling muscles cause the lens to be
relatively flattened. Similarly, these muscles allow the lens to become thicker in order to focus
on objects near the eye. An inverted image of the object is formed on the fovea region of the
retina.
In above figure the observer is looking at a tree 72.5 m high at a distance of 100m. If h is the
height in mm of that object in the retinal image, it is easy to calculate the size of the retinal
image of any object. 15/100=h/17 or h=2.55mm

Brightness Adaption and Discrimination

The human eye can adapt to a wide range (≈ 1010) of intensity levels. The brightness that we
perceive (subjective brightness) is not a simple function of the intensity. In fact the subjective
brightness is a logarithmic function of the light intensity incident on the eye.

The HVS(Human Visual System) mechanisms adapt to different lighting conditions. The
sensitivity level for a given lighting condition is called as the brightness adaption level. As the
lighting condition changes, our visual sensory mechanism will adapt by changing its sensitivity.
The human eye cannot respond to the entire range of intensity levels at a given level of
sensitivity.

Example
If we stand in a brightly lit area we cannot discern details in a dark area since it will appear
totally dark. Our photo-receptors cannot respond to the low level of intensity because the level of
sensitivity has been adapted to the bright light. However a few minutes after moving into the
dark room, our eyes would adapt to the required sensitivity level and we would be able to see in
the dark area. This shows that though our visual system can respond to a wide dynamic range, it
is possible only by adapting to different lighting conditions. At a given point of time our eye can
respond well to only particular brightness levels. The response of the visual system can be
characterized with respect to a particular brightness adaption level.

How many different intensities can we see at a given brightness adaption level?

At a given brightness adaption level, a typical human observer can discern between 1 to 2 dozen
different intensity changes. If a person is looking at some point on a grayscale image
(monochrome image), he would be able to discern about 1 to 2 dozen intensity levels. However,
as the eyes are moved to look at some other point on the image, the brightness adaption level
would change, and a different set of intensity levels will now become discernable. Hence at a
given adaption level the eye cannot discriminate between too many intensity levels, but by
varying the adaption level the eye is capable of discriminating a much broader range of intensity
levels.
 Fig: Basic experimental setup used to characterize brightness discrimination

Example (only for your understanding)

If you lift up and hold a weight of 2.0 kg, you will notice that it takes some effort. If you add to
this weight another 0.05 kg and lift, you may not notice any difference between the apparent or
subjective weight between the 2.0 kg and the 2.1 kg weights. If you keep adding weight, you
may find that you will only notice the difference when the additional weight is equal to 0.2 kg.
The increment threshold for detecting the difference from a 2.0 kg weight is 0.2 kg. The just
noticeable difference is 0.2 kg. For the weight of magnitude, I, of 2.0 kg, the increment
threshold for detecting a difference was a I (pronounces, delta I) of 0.2 kg.

Example (which you have to write in exam):

Further, the discriminability of the eye also changes with the brightness adaption level. Consider
a opaque glass, that is illuminated from behind by a light source whose intensity I, can be varied.
To this field is added an increment of illumination , in the form of a short duration flash that
appears as a circle at the center of the uniformly illuminated field. If I is not bright enough, the
subject says “no” indicating no perceivable change. As gets stronger, the subject may give a
positive response of “yes” indicating a perceived change. The ratio is called as the weber ratio.

Fig: Typical weber ratio as a function of intensity

A plot of log , as a function of log I has the general shape shown in above fig. This shows
brightness discrimination is poor at low levels of illumination, and improves significantly as
background illumination increases.

Mach-band effect
The Mach-band effect is an optical
illusion as shown in Fig 2. The image
shown consists of two regions one
towards the left and one towards the
right which are of uniform intensity.
At the middle there is strip on which
the intensity changes uniformly from
the intensity level on the left side to
the intensity level on the right side. If
we observe carefully we notice a dark
band immediately to the right of the
middle strip and a light band
Figure 2: Mach Band effect
immediately to the left of the middle
strip. Actually the dark (or light) band has the same intensity level as the right (or left) part of the
image, but still we perceive it darker than that. This is the Mach-band illusion. It happens
because as we look at a boundary between two intensity levels, the eye changes its adaption level
and so we perceive the same intensity differently.

Simultaneous contrast

The perceived brightness of a region does not depend on the intensity of the region, but on the
context (background or surrounding‟s) on which it is seen. All the center squares have exactly
same intensity. However, they appear to the eye to become darker as the background gets lighter.
3. Light

Fig: The electromagnetic spectrum.

The light as we see it illuminating the objects is a very small portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum. This is the visible color spectrum which can be sensed by the human eye. Its
wavelength spans between 0.43 mm for violet to 0.79 mm for red. The wavelengths outside this
range correspond to radiations which cannot be sensed by human eye. For example, the ultra-
violet rays, the X-rays and the Gamma rays have progressively shorter wavelengths, and on the
other hand, infrared rays, microwaves, and radio waves have progressively larger wavelengths.

The color that we perceive for an object is basically that of the light reflected from the object.
Light which gets perceived as gray shades from black to white is called as monochromatic or
achromatic light (without color). Light which gets perceived as colored is called as chromatic
light. Important terms which characterize a chromatic light source are:

Radiance The total amount of energy that flows from the light source. Measured in
watts.

Luminance It measures the amount of energy an observer perceives from a light source.
Measured in lumens.

Brightness Indicates how a subject perceives the light in a sense similar to that of
achromatic intensity.