Image Processing: Basics, Challenges & Perspectives

Outline
•Digital Image Processing
•Image Generation
•Image Perception
•Image Acquisition
•Color Images

A. Digital Image Processing
•Digital image: f(x,y)•More than human perception (or EM spectrum):–Ultrasound, electron-microscopy, computer-generated images•Related fields: computer vision, image analysis / understanding•Better characterization:–Low-level: both input and output are images •Noise reduction, contrast enhancement, image sharpening–Mid-level: input -image, output –extracted attributes•Segmentation, classification–High level: “making sense”of the images•Vision-related tasks


A bit of history
•1960’s: computers powerful enough + space program
•1964: pictures from the Moon (JPL, Pasadena, CA)
•Other fields:
–Remote Earth resources observation
–Medical Image processing: 1970’s CAT / CT (Hounsfield, Cormack–1979 Nobel Prize)
–Aerial and satellite images
–Archeology
–Physics
–Machine perception: inspection, product assembly, character recognition, ...etc


B. Image generation
•Electromagnetic (EM) energy spectrum
•Acoustic energy
•Ultrasonic energy
•Electric energy (e.g.: electron microscope)

Gamma ray imaging
•Nuclear Medicine–Radioactive isotope injected to emit gamma rays while decaying