Method and device for displaying or searching for object in image and computer-readable storage medium

• US 6,882,756 B1
• Filed: 07/03/2000
• Issued: 04/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Bober, Miroslaw Z.
• Primary Examiner(s): MARIAM, DANIEL G
• Application Number:
  US09/763,852
• Time in Patent Office: 1,751 Days
• Field of Search: 382/103, 382/181.1, 382/90, 382/199, 382/201, 382/203, 382/260, 382/266, 382/305, 382/366, 382/181, 382/190, 382/316, 358/403, 707 1- 10
• US Class Current: 382/305
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5854 using shape and object relationship
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/46 Descriptors for shape, contour or point-related descriptors, e.g. scale invariant feature transform [SIFT] or bags of words [BoW]; Salient regional features colour feature extraction G06V10/56
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/752 Contour matching

Abstract

A method of representing an object appearing in a still or video image, by processing signals corresponding to the image, comprises deriving a plurality of numerical values associated with features appearing on the outline of an object starting from an arbitrary point on the outline and applying a predetermined ordering to said values to arrive at a representation of the outline.

Claims

1. A method of representing an object appearing in an image or a sequence of images, by processing signals corresponding to the image, the method comprising:

deriving a plurality of peak coordinate values of a curvature scale space (CSS) representation of the object by smoothing an outline of the object in a plurality of stages starting from an arbitrary point on the outline, and

ordering the peak co-ordinate values of the CSS representation on the basis of peak height values of the plurality of peak co-ordinates, the peak height values corresponding to a parameter used for smoothing the outline.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ordering includes generating a representation of the outline that is independent of a starting point on the outline.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ordering includes ordering the peak height values starting from the greatest value.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said ordering includes ordering the peak height values in decreasing size.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ordering includes ordering the peak height values starting from the smallest value.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

producing a descriptor from said ordering of the peak height values, and

storing the descriptor.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said storing includes storing the descriptor in a database.

8. A apparatus arranged to implement a method as claimed in claim 1.

9. A computer system programmed to operate according to a method as claimed in claim 1.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable procedures for implementing a method as claimed in claim 1.

11. A method for representing an object appearing in an image, comprising:

identifying at least one object outline;

determining a curvature scale space representation for said outline, by smoothing the outline in a plurality of stages, to generate peak coordinates for the curvature scale space representation; and

ordering said peak coordinates based on peak height value, corresponding to a parameter used for smoothing the outline, to generate a shape descriptor for said outline.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing said shape descriptor as a description for said object in a memory.

13. A method for representing an object appearing in an image, comprising:

identifying at least one object outline;

determining a curvature scale space representation for said outline, by smoothing the outline in a plurality of stages, to generate peak coordinates for the curvature scale space representation; and

ordering said peak coordinates, by selecting highest peak value and associated highest peak coordinates and ordering remaining peak coordinates in decreasing peak height, to generate a shape descriptor for said outline wherein said highest peak value and other peak values corresponding to a parameter used for smoothing the outline.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

storing said shape descriptor as a description for said object in a memory.

15. A method for representing an object appearing in an image, comprising:

identifying at least one object outline;

determining a curvature scale space representation for said outline, by smoothing the outline in a plurality of stages, to generate peak coordinates for the curvature scale space representation; and

ordering said peak coordinates, by selecting highest peak value and associated peak coordinates and ordering remaining peak coordinates in relation to x-coordinate values by shifting x-coordinates of the remaining peak coordinates in relation to x-coordinate associated with said highest peak value, to generate a shape descriptor for said outline wherein said highest peak value and other peak values corresponding to a parameter used for smoothing the outline.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

storing said shape descriptor as a description for said object in a memory.

17. A method for representing an object appearing in an image, comprising:

identifying at least one object outline;

determining a curvature scale space representation, by smoothing the outline in a plurality of stages, for said outline to generate a plurality of curves representative of said outline;

determining peaks and associated peak coordinates for said plurality of curves; and

ordering said peak coordinates, by selecting highest peak value and associated peak coordinates and shifting the x-coordinate associated with said highest peak value to a value of zero, and ordering remaining peak coordinates in relation to x-coordinate values by shifting x-coordinates of the remaining peak coordinates in relation to said shifted x-coordinate associated with said highest peak value, to generate a shape descriptor for said outline wherein said highest peak value and other peak values corresponding to a parameter used for smoothing the outline.

18. A method for representing an object appearing in an image, comprising:

identifying at least one object outline;

determining a curvature scale space representation, by smoothing the outline in a plurality of stages, for said outline to generate peak coordinates for the outline curvature scale space representation, wherein said peak coordinates are determined using a plural stage filter that produces derivative curves representative of said outline by convolving said object outline; and

ordering said peak coordinates, by selecting highest peak value and associated highest peak coordinates and ordering remaining peak coordinates in decreasing peak height, to generate a shape descriptor for said outline wherein said highest peak value and other peak values corresponding to a parameter used for smoothing the outline.