title: Multiscale gradient watersheds of color images.
abstract: We present a new framework for the hierarchical segmentation of color images. The proposed scheme comprises a nonlinear scale-space with vector-valued gradient watersheds. Our aim is to produce a meaningful hierarchy among the objects in the image using three image components of distinct perceptual significance for a human observer, namely strong edges, smooth segments and detailed segments. The scale-space is based on a vector-valued diffusion that uses the Additive Operator Splitting numerical scheme. Furthermore, we introduce the principle of the dynamics of contours in scale-space that combines scale and contrast information. The performance of the proposed segmentation scheme is presented via experimental results obtained with a wide range of images including natural and artificial scenes.
authors.affiliation: Vrije Univ. Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. iuvanham@etro.vub.ac.be
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vanhamel
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pratikakis
authors.forename: Hichem
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sahli