Digital Image Processing

FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL

Imaging systems

Sample and quantize

Digital storage (disk)

Digital computer

On-line buffer

Display output

object

observe

digitize

store

process

Refresh /store

Record

Sampling
256x256 64x64

Quantisation 8 bits
0 0 0 0 0 255 0 0 0 255 255 255 255 255 255 0 0 0 0 255 0 0 0 0 0

Quantisation cont.
256x256 256 levels 256x256 32 levels

Quantisation cont.
256x256 256 levels 256x256 2 levels

Coloured Image

Intensity (Gray-Level) Image

Binary Image

Image Processing
manipulation of multidimensional signals
image (photo) video CT, MRI

f ( x, y )

f ( x, y, t )
f ( x, y, z, t )

Image Processing

Why?
Coding/compression Enhancement, restoration, reconstruction Analysis, detection, recognition, understanding Visualization

Elements of DIP
1. Image acquisition element like a) sensors like CCD, CMOS sensors , image scanner. b) Image storage devices c) Image Processing Elements and d) Image display devices.

What is an Image Sensor

An Image Sensor is a photosensitive device that converts light signals into digital signals (colours/RGB data). Typically, the two main types in common use are CCD and CMOS sensors and are mainly used in digital cameras and other imaging devices. CCD stands for Charged-Coupled Device and CMOS stands for Complementary MetalOxide Semiconductor

Uses?

Image sensors are not only limited to digital cameras. Image sensors are used in other fields such as:
Astronomy, most notably in the Hubble Space Telescope Machine vision/sensing UV Spectroscopy Etc.

How Image Sensors Work

Both CCD and CMOS sensors work by employing photosensitive circuitry that reacts to light and stores the analog signals as digital data, namely an image. They both use different methods to achieve this. First we will take a look at CCD image sensors.

CCD

A CCD, or a Charged-Coupled Device, is a photosensitive analog device that records light as a small electrical charge in each of its pixels or cells. In essence a CCD is an collection of CCD cells. The signal captured by the CCD requires additional circuitry to convert the analog light data into a readable digital signal. This is mainly layers of capacitors called Stages which act as a way to transport the analog signal to an array of flipflops which store the data all controlled by a clock signal. This is the definition of an Analog Shift Register.

CCD

When light strikes a CCD, it acquires an electrical charge according to how much light has hit the particular CCD cell. Each CCD cell can transfer its charge to its neighboring cell and then off to external circuitry.

The charge is then read off by an analog-to-digital converter as an integer on a range of 0 to 4095 for most modern DSLR(Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras. Lower ranges exist, such as 0-255, for lower quality cameras.

How CCDs Record Colour

Each CCD cell in the CCD array produces a single value independent of colour. To make colour images, CCD cells are organized in groups of four cells (making one pixel) and a Bayer Filter is placed on top of the group to allow only red light to hit one of the four cells, blue light to hit another and green light to hit the remaining two. The reasoning behind the two green cells is because the human eye is more sensitive to green light and it is more convenient to use a 4 pixel filter than a 3 pixel filter (harder to implement) and can be compensated after a image capture with something called white balance. Ex. A Bayer filter applied to the underlying CCD pixel

A CMOS Sensor

CMOS

A CMOS, or Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, each pixel has neighboring transistors which locally perform the analog to digital conversion. This difference in readout has many implications in the overall organization and capability of the camera. Each one of these pixel sensors are called an Active Pixel Sensor (APS).

CMOS

The imaging logic is integrated on a CMOS chip, where a CCD is a modular imager that can be replaced. Because of this, design of a new CMOS chip is more expensive. However, APSs are transistor-based, which means that CMOS chips can be cheaply manufactured on any standard silicon production line.

Pros and Cons

CCD Needs extra circuitry to convert to digital signal

CMOS Higher cost to develop On-chip analog-to-digital conversion Lower complexity on the sensor leading to faster image capture Reduced power consumption

High dynamic range of lighting

Less noise due to less onchip circuitry

OTHER ELEMENTS
Storage elements computer (disk system, flash memory). Display Elements monitor(resolution, size etc.,) Image File Formats GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF,BMP etc.,

APPLICATIONS
Medical images Satellite images Astronomy Radar images

Satellite image Volcano Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

Satellite image Volcano in Alaska

Medical Images: MRI of normal brain

Medical Images: X-ray knee

Medical Images: Ultrasound Five-month Foetus (lungs, liver and bowel)

Astronomical images

ELEMENTS OF VISUAL PERCEPTION

- STRUCTURE OF HUMAN EYE
- IMAGE FORMATION IN THE EYE - BRIGHTNESS ADAPTATION AND DISCRIMINATION

STRUCTURE OF HUMAN EYE

Cones-bright light vision(7 million) Rods - dim light vision(150 million)

Color Image Fundamentals

Properties of Color
Hue

the color we describe Value or Brightness how much light or whiteness Intensity or Saturation how little or how much grey in a color

Hue
0 red 30 orange 60 yellow 90 yellow green 120 green 150 blue green 180 cyan 210 green blue 240 blue 270 purple 300 magenta 330 blue red

Hue values mark a position measured in degrees (0-360) on a color wheel

Value or Brightness