CS 450

Digital Signal
and
Image Processing
______________

Exam #1 - Practice

Winter 2012

Name:___________________ Total: 150

Score:_____

No time limit. You may use a calculator and one page of notes.
(15 pts.)
1. The following terms pertain to time-varying signals such as audio signals or images.
Circle the item that most correctly completes the sentence. (15 pts., 3 pts. @)

Resolution has specifically to do with:

a. the number of pixels in an image.
b. the ability to discern detail in an image.
c. the something you do on January 1 each year.
d. the number of sensors in the camera.

Quantization has specifically to do with:

a. converting a digital signal to an analog signal.
b. the quantity of data being sampled by an individual sensor.
c. the number of samples in a signal or image.
d. the selection of discrete values in a signal or image.

Sampling has specifically to do with:

a. the number of pixels in an image.
b. the number of bits per sample or pixel.
c. the selection and density of discrete points when digitizing a signal.
d. lunch at Costco.

Aperture has specifically to do with:

a. the size of a sensor.
b. the amount of light let through a lens.
c. sensor inhomogeneity.
d. your dental appliance.

Sensor has specifically to do with:

a. the “pinhole” of the camera – larger pinhole, larger "sensor.”
b. the light meter in the camera.
c. prohibiting the publication of information.
d. Silver Halide crystals, photoreceptors, CCDs.

(10 pts.)
2. A stationary infrared camera is used to acquire images of a doorway for surveillance purposes.
Images are digitized at 5 frames per second. Pixel f(x,y) on the doorway has an average brightness of 80
and a standard deviation of 50. What is the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) at this pixel location? (5 pts.)

Assuming that the noise is random point noise and Gaussian distributed, how could frame averaging be
used to improve the SNR? (5 pts.)
(15 pts.)
Questions 3-7: True/False. (3 pts. @)

3. Although the size of the aperture of a camera affects the resolution of an image True False
(that is, larger aperture -> lower resolution, and vice-versa), lenses can be used to
increase the resolution by allowing physically larger apertures to have effectively
smaller ones.

4. When we digitize an image, from a photograph for example, each CCD element True False
in the scanner actually collects or acquires infinitely small point measurements of
brightness or color, leaving most of the photograph “unsampled.”

5. “Gain” refers to the “DC” bias or constant addition to the output in an image True False
acquisition device while “offset” refers to the slope of the curve (proportionality of
input to output.)

6. Different monitors/displays have different “Gamma Corrections” because the True False
amount of gamma rays emitted by the CRT differs from monitor to monitor.

7. Quantization has to do with the number of discrete gray levels or colors while True False
“sampling” refers to how many pixels we get when we digitize an image.

(10 pts.)
8. You have just digitized an image of a one-time event, but find that the pixel intensities, D, in the
image have undergone a nonlinear distortion described by a mapping function f(D), shown below.
Give an equation or define a relationship for an inverse mapping function f -1(•), (where (•) is in
terms of D and/or f(D)), that will "linearize" the image. Also, draw f -1(D). (7 pts. for the function,
f -1(D); 3 pts. for the drawing.) Note: Do not confuse this with inverse mapping functions that flatten
histograms!

f(D)
(15 pts.)

9. When the output gray level, DB, is a linear function of the input gray level, DA, the gray scale
transformation function, f, takes the form

DB = f(DA) = aDA + b

What values of a and b in a linear stretch will move D1 and D2, where 0 ≤ D1 < D2 ≤ 255, to zero and
Dm, respectively? Sketch the GST function, f, for D1 = 32, D2 = 200 and Dm = 255.

(10 pts.)

10. The histograms below demonstrate problems with gain and offset. Circle the phrase(s) below each
figure that best describe the situation.
H(D) H(D)

Too much gain Too little gain Gain just right Too much offset Too little offset Offset just right
(10 pts.)

11. Consider a grayscale CCD camera with a dynamic range of 0-255 (8 bits) configured as 8 separate
bit planes 0-7 with plane 0, producing values 0 or 1; plane 1 producing values 0 or 2, etc.). One day,
you drop your camera and discover, by examining the histogram, that the 0 bitplane is now broken
and is all set to 0. How did you discover this? That is, what two main effects does this have on the
histogram? (Remember that the number of pixels has not changed.)

(18 pts.) ((3 pts @)

12. Sketch a grayscale transformation function (Look-up Table) that will

(a) produce the individual bit planes of an 8-bit image (d) decrease overall image brightness

(b) create a binary (thresholded) image (e) turn pixels values 126-128 to 255.

(c) create a “negative” of the image (f) reduce image contrast

(12 pts.)
2
13. Is the system Ax linear or nonlinear? You must show why or why not, by using the superposition
principle, in order to receive more than 1 point of credit.

(10 pts.)

14. What does convolution of an image with the following filter do? (Hint: Look at it as a linear
combination of a low-pass filter with the original image.)

-2

-2 9 -2

-2
(10 pts.)

15. What does convolution of an image with the following filter do? (Hint: Look at it as a linear combination
of a low-pass filter with the original image.)

-1 -1 -1

-1 9 -1

-1 -1 -1

(15 pts.)

16. What does the following algorithm do to and image, I? Describe what I would look like at the end of the
algorithm. (Remember, * means convolution.)

IA ’ ← A * I {Convolve image I with A and store the result in IA’}

2
IA’ ← (IA’) {Square the result for each pixel in A’}
IB ’ ← B * I {Convolve image I with B and store the result in IB’}
2
IB’ ← (Ib’) {Square the result for each pixel in B’}
I ← Square root of ( IA’ + IB’ ) {Add IA’ and IB’ and take the square root of the result)

-1 -2 -1 -1 1

-2 2

1 2 1 -1 1

A B