Method of segmentation of a digital image and a method of controlling an implement

• US 7,155,056 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2001
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ECO-DAN A/S (CLAAS KGaA mbH)
• Original Assignee: ECO-DAN A/S (CLAAS KGaA mbH)
• Inventors: Andersen, Hans J
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed, Samir
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah, Utpal
• Application Number:
  US10/275,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20030147100A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,063 Days
• Field of Search: 382/164, 382/224
• US Class Current: 382/164
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/194 involving foreground-background segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 Determination of colour characteristics

Abstract

In connection with the segmenting of a digital image divided into small elements (pixels) and acquired with a camera having several color channels, to discern an object from a background, the daylight locus and the color locus of the camera are, a priori, modeled after to the body reflectance characteristic of the subject. In this way a normal vector (nS) to the daylight locus is determined a priori and for each pixel, the scalar product between a color vector (cf) of the element in the form of the response from the color channels of the camera and the normal vector of the daylight locus is calculated, following which the element is characterized as representing object or background on basis of the calculation result, the elements characterized as objects (1) being assigned one value and the elements characterized as background being assigned a second value. On basis of the segmented image a control signal for an implement (4) is derived.

Claims

1. A method of segmenting a digital image divided into small elements (pixels) and acquired with a camera having several colour channels, to discern an object from a background, in which method,

a priori, a daylight locus and a colour locus of the camera are modelled in a space defined directly by the colour channels of the camera,

a daylight locus being the response of the camera to a standard daylight of varying correlated colour temperature (CCT), and

the colour locus being modeled after body reflectance characteristics of the object under conditions of said standard daylight, wherein,

a priori, a normal vector (n_s) to the modelled daylight locus is determined and for each small element, the scalar product between a colour vector (C_f) of the element in the form of the response from the colour channels of the camera and the normal vector of the daylight locus is calculated, following which the element is characterized as representing object or background on basis of the calculation result, the elements characterized as objects being assigned one value and the elements characterized as background being assigned a second value.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the elements characterized as object are assigned a value between the first and the second values depending on the distance of their colour vector (C_f) from the colour locus.

3. A method of controlling an implement, in particular an agricultural implement, in which a control signal for the implement is derived from a segmented digital image, wherein the image is segmented by the method according to claim 1 or 2.