Digital image processing : concepts, algorithms, and scientific applications

Since the first edition of this book was published in 1986 it has found its way to many desks and classrooms. The fifth edition has been revised to reflect the development of the field. The presentation and the selection of materials is guided by the needs of a researcher who wants to apply image processing techniques in his or her field. In this sense the book offers an integral view of image processing from image acquisition to the extraction of of the data of interest. The discussion of the general concepts is supplemented with examples from applications on PC-based image processing systems and ready-to-use implementations of important algorithms. The CD-ROM contains examples, images as well as exercises for selfstudy along with a hand-on version of the image processing software heurisko. This chapter centers around the question of how to represent the infor­ mation contained in images. Together with the next two chapters it lays the mathematical foundations for low-Ievel image processing. Two key points are emphasized in this chapter. First, the information contained in images can be represented in en­ tirely different ways. The most important are the spatial representation (Section 2.2) and wave number representation (Section 2.3). These repre­ sentations just look at spatial data from different points of view. Since the various representations are complete and equivalent, they can be converted into each other. The conversion between the spatial and wave number representation is the well-known Fourier transform. This trans­ form is an example of a more general dass of operations, the unitary transforms (Section 2.4). Second, we discuss how these representations can be handled with digital computers. How are images represented by arrays of digital num­ bers in an adequate way? How are these data handled efficiently? Can fast algorithms be devised to convert one representation into another? A key example is the fast Fourier transform, discussed in Section 2.5. 2.2 Spatial Representation of Digital Images 2.2.1 Pixel and Voxel Images constitute a spatial distribution of the irradiance at a plane.

The sixth edition has been revised and extended. The whole textbook is now clearly partitioned into basic and advanced material in order to cope with the ever-increasing field of digital image processing. In this way, you can first work your way through the basic principles of digital image processing without getting overwhelmed by the wealth of the material and then extend your studies to selected topics of interest. Each chapter now includes exercises that help you to test your understanding, train your skills, and introduce you to real-world image processing tasks. An important part of the exercises is a wealth of interactive computer exercises, which cover all topics of this textbook. These exercises are performed with the image processing software heurisko, which is included on the accompanying CD-ROM. In this way you can get own practical experience with almost all topics and algorithms covered by this book. The complete hyperlinked text of the book is now available on the accompanying CD-ROM.

"The fifth edition has been revised to reflect the development of the field. The presentation and the selection of materials is guided by the needs of a researcher who wants to apply image processing techniques in his or her field. In this sense the book offers an integral view of image processing from image acquisition to the extraction of of the data of interest. The discussion of the general concepts is supplemented with examples from applications on PC-based image processing systems and ready-to-use implementations of important algorithms. The CD-ROM contains examples and images, as well as exercises for self-study."--Jacket From the beginning of science, visual observation has played a major role.