Extracting Objects Using Contour Evolutions in Edge-Based Object Tracking

Hiroyuki Tsuji; Shinji Tokumasu; Hiroki Takahashi; Masayuki Nakajima

doi:10.20965/jaciii.2006.p0362

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JACIII Vol.10 No.3 pp. 362-371

doi: 10.20965/jaciii.2006.p0362

(2006)

Paper:

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Extracting Objects Using Contour Evolutions in Edge-Based Object Tracking

Hiroyuki Tsuji^, Shinji Tokumasu^, Hiroki Takahashi^,
and Masayuki Nakajima^

^*Department of Information and Computer Sciences, Faculty of Information Technology, Kanagawa Institute of Technology, 1030 Shimo-ogino, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0292, Japan

^**Department of Computer Science, Graduate School of Information Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan

Received:

February 22, 2005

Accepted:

December 21, 2005

Published:

May 20, 2006

Keywords:

video object plane (VOP), object extraction, partial differential equations (PDE), contour evolution, level set methods

Abstract

We propose edge-based object extraction targeting automatic video object plane (VOP) generation in MPEG-4 content-based video coding. In an edge-based VOP generation framework proposed by Meier, the object is represented as a binary edge image that does not generally form a closed contour and that also contains many extra edges, making extracting the object contour accurately less straightforward in such situations. To solve this problem, we adopt a PDE-based contour evolution approach to evolve initial multiple contours contained inside the object toward its boundary based on evolution equations, and to finally merge them into a single contour that accurately represents the object’s shape. Our experimental results using an MPEG standard image sequence show that object contours obtained as we propose appear subjectively more natural in shape compared with those obtained by two conventional methods, especially when the binary object model is not in good condition.

Cite this article as:

H. Tsuji, S. Tokumasu, H. Takahashi, and M. Nakajima, “Extracting Objects Using Contour Evolutions in Edge-Based Object Tracking,” J. Adv. Comput. Intell. Intell. Inform., Vol.10 No.3, pp. 362-371, 2006.

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References

[1] ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 MPEG97/2702,“Description of Automatic Segmentation Techniques Developed and Tested for MPEG-4 Version1,” Oct., 1997.
[2] C. Gu, and M. Lee,“Semiautomatic Segmentation and Tracking of Semantic Video Objects,” IEEE Trans. CSVT, Vol.8, No.5, 1998.
[3] T. Meier, and K. N. Ngan,“Automatic Segmentation of Moving Objects for Video Object Plane Generation,” IEEE Trans. CSVT, Vol.8, No.5, 1998.
[4] D. P. Huttenlocher,“Comparing Images Using Housdorff Distance,” IEEE Trans. PAMI, Vol.15, No.9, 1993.
[5] D. P. Huttenlocher,“Tracking Nonrigid Objects in Complex Scenes,” 4th Int. Conf. Comput. Vision, Berlin, Germany, May, 1993.
[6] V. Caselles, R. Kimmel, and G. Sapiro,“Geodesic Active Contours,” Int. J. Comput. Vision, Vol.22, No.1, 1997.
[7] G. Aubert, and P. Kornprobst,“Mathematical Problems in Image Processing,” Springer, New York, 2002.
[8] G. Sapiro,“Geometric Partial Differential Equations and Image Analysis,” Cambridge University Press, 2001.
[9] J. R. Parker,“Algorithms for Image Processing and Computer Vision,” John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997.
[10] J. Canny,“A Computational Approach to Edge Detection,” IEEE Trans. PAMI, Vol.8, No.6, 1986.
[11] A. K. Jain,“Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing,” Prentice Hall, 1989.
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[13] A. Minato, and S. Ozawa,“Application of Simulated Annealing for Extarction of Outlines from Binary Image,” IEICE Trans. on Inf. & Syst. (Japanese Edition), Vol.J88-D-II, No.1, 2005.
[14] T. Meier, and K. N. Ngan,“Video Segmentation for Content-Based Coding,” IEEE Trans. CSVT, Vol.9, No.8, 1999.
[15] T. H. Cormen, C. E. Leiserson, and R. L. Rivest,“Introduction to Algorithms,” MIT Press, 1990.
[16] M. Kass, A. Witkin, and D. Terzopoulos,“Snakes: Active Contour Models,” Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Computer Vision, London, UK, 1987.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 MPEG97/2702,“Description of Automatic Segmentation Techniques Developed and Tested for MPEG-4 Version1,” Oct., 1997.

[2] [2] C. Gu, and M. Lee,“Semiautomatic Segmentation and Tracking of Semantic Video Objects,” IEEE Trans. CSVT, Vol.8, No.5, 1998.

[3] [3] T. Meier, and K. N. Ngan,“Automatic Segmentation of Moving Objects for Video Object Plane Generation,” IEEE Trans. CSVT, Vol.8, No.5, 1998.

[4] [4] D. P. Huttenlocher,“Comparing Images Using Housdorff Distance,” IEEE Trans. PAMI, Vol.15, No.9, 1993.

[5] [5] D. P. Huttenlocher,“Tracking Nonrigid Objects in Complex Scenes,” 4th Int. Conf. Comput. Vision, Berlin, Germany, May, 1993.

[6] [6] V. Caselles, R. Kimmel, and G. Sapiro,“Geodesic Active Contours,” Int. J. Comput. Vision, Vol.22, No.1, 1997.

[7] [7] G. Aubert, and P. Kornprobst,“Mathematical Problems in Image Processing,” Springer, New York, 2002.

[8] [8] G. Sapiro,“Geometric Partial Differential Equations and Image Analysis,” Cambridge University Press, 2001.

[9] [9] J. R. Parker,“Algorithms for Image Processing and Computer Vision,” John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997.

[10] [10] J. Canny,“A Computational Approach to Edge Detection,” IEEE Trans. PAMI, Vol.8, No.6, 1986.

[11] [11] A. K. Jain,“Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing,” Prentice Hall, 1989.

[12] [12] M. Abe, T. Ouchi, and M. Kawamata,“Extraction of Outlines in Arbitrary Shape from Binary Images Using Genetic Algorithm,” IEICE Trans. on Inf. & Syst. (Japanese Edition), Vol.J86-D-II, No.7, 2003.

[13] [13] A. Minato, and S. Ozawa,“Application of Simulated Annealing for Extarction of Outlines from Binary Image,” IEICE Trans. on Inf. & Syst. (Japanese Edition), Vol.J88-D-II, No.1, 2005.

[14] [14] T. Meier, and K. N. Ngan,“Video Segmentation for Content-Based Coding,” IEEE Trans. CSVT, Vol.9, No.8, 1999.

[15] [15] T. H. Cormen, C. E. Leiserson, and R. L. Rivest,“Introduction to Algorithms,” MIT Press, 1990.

[16] [16] M. Kass, A. Witkin, and D. Terzopoulos,“Snakes: Active Contour Models,” Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Computer Vision, London, UK, 1987.

Extracting Objects Using Contour Evolutions in Edge-Based Object Tracking

Hiroyuki Tsuji*, Shinji Tokumasu*, Hiroki Takahashi**, and Masayuki Nakajima**

Hiroyuki Tsuji^, Shinji Tokumasu^, Hiroki Takahashi^,
and Masayuki Nakajima^