System and method for color characterization using fuzzy pixel classification with application in color matching and color match location
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for characterizing colors of an image, wherein the image comprises a plurality of pixels, the method comprising:
- for each respective pixel of at least a subset of pixels of the image, assigning values to one or more color categories based on color information of the pixel;
wherein, for each of one or more first pixels, said assigning comprises assigning values to a plurality of the color categories based on color information of the pixel; and
determining information regarding the total values of pixels assigned to each of the color categories, wherein said information characterizes colors of the image;
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Abstract
A system and method for measuring the similarity of multiple-color images and for locating regions of a target image having color information that matches, at least to a degree, the color information of a template image. A color characterization method operates to characterize the colors of an image and to measure the similarity between multiple-color images. For each image pixel, the method determines a color category or bin for the respective pixel based on HSI values of the respective pixel, wherein the color category is one of a plurality of possible color categories in HSI color space. In various embodiments, the weight of the pixel may be fractionally distributed across a plurality of color categories, e.g., as determined by applying fuzzy pixel classification with a fuzzy membership function. The percentage of pixels assigned to each category is then determined. The percentage of pixels in each color category is then used as a color feature vector to represent the color information of the color image. A quantitative measurement of the color similarity between color images is then computed based on the distance between their color feature vectors. Once the color information of a template image has been characterized, a target image may be searched in order to locate regions within the target image having matching color information. In one embodiment, a coarse-to-fine heuristic may be utilized, in which multiple search stages of decreasing granularity are performed. A first-stage search may operate to identify a list of candidate match regions based on the city-block distance of the color feature vector computed using a sub-sampling scheme. These candidate match regions may then be examined in further detail in order to determine final matches.
62 Citations
45 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for characterizing colors of an image, wherein the image comprises a plurality of pixels, the method comprising:
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for each respective pixel of at least a subset of pixels of the image, assigning values to one or more color categories based on color information of the pixel;
wherein, for each of one or more first pixels, said assigning comprises assigning values to a plurality of the color categories based on color information of the pixel; and
determining information regarding the total values of pixels assigned to each of the color categories, wherein said information characterizes colors of the image;
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30)
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12. A computer-implemented method for characterizing colors of an image, wherein the image comprises a plurality of pixels, the method comprising:
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for each respective pixel of at least a subset of pixels of the image, determining contributions of the pixel to one or more color categories;
wherein, for each of one or more first pixels, said determining comprises determining contributions of the pixel to a plurality of the color categories; and
determining information regarding the total contributions of pixels to each of the color categories, wherein said information characterizes colors of the image.
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23. A computer-implemented method for characterizing the color information of an image, wherein the image comprises a plurality of pixels, wherein a color space representing possible colors of the pixels is divided into a plurality of bins, the method comprising:
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for each of at least a subset of pixels of the image;
examining color information of the pixel to determine a bin corresponding to the color information of the pixel;
applying a function based on a location of the pixel within the bin to determine a contribution of the pixel to one or more neighboring bins;
assigning values to the bin and the one or more neighboring bins based on the determined contributions of the pixel to the one or more neighboring bins;
wherein the total assigned values across the bins of the color space characterize the color information of the image.
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27. A computer-implemented method for determining a similarity of colors between a template image and a target image, wherein the template image and the target image each comprise a plurality of pixels, the method comprising:
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determining color information of the template image, wherein said color information comprises information regarding assigned values of at least a subset of template image pixels to each of a plurality of color categories;
determining color information of the target image, wherein said color information comprises information regarding assigned values of at least a subset of target image pixels to each of the plurality of color categories;
determining a similarity of colors between the template image and the target image, based on the color information of the template image and the color information of the target image;
wherein, for one or more template image pixels or one or more target image pixels, a value is assigned to more than one color category.
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31. A computer-implemented method for characterizing colors in an image, wherein the image comprises a plurality of pixels, the method comprising:
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for each respective pixel of at least a subset of the pixels, assigning the respective pixel to one or more color categories from a plurality of possible color categories, based on color information of the respective pixel;
determining information regarding the distribution of pixels across each of the color categories;
determining information regarding one or more dominant color categories, based on the information regarding the distribution of pixels across each of the color categories, wherein the one or more dominant color categories are assigned a relatively larger proportion of pixels, with respect to other color categories;
wherein the information regarding the distribution of pixels across each of the color categories and the information regarding the one or more dominant color categories characterizes colors in the image.
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32. A system for characterizing colors of an image, wherein the image comprises a plurality of pixels, the system comprising:
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a processor;
a memory medium coupled to the processor, wherein the memory medium stores color characterization software;
wherein the processor is operable to execute the color characterization software to;
for each respective pixel of at least a subset of pixels of the image, assign values to one or more color categories based on color information of the pixel;
wherein, for each of one or more first pixels, said assigning comprises assigning values to a plurality of the color categories based on color information of the pixel;
wherein the processor is operable to determine information regarding the total values of pixels assigned to each of the color categories, wherein said information characterizes colors of the image. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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39. A memory medium comprising program instructions operable to:
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for each respective pixel of at least a subset of pixels of an image, assign values to one or more color categories based on color information of the pixel;
wherein, for each of one or more first pixels, said assigning comprises assigning values to a plurality of the color categories based on color information of the pixel; and
determine information regarding the total values of pixels assigned to each of the color categories, wherein said information characterizes colors of the image.
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Specification