Noise estimation from digital step-model signal.

This paper addresses the noise estimation in the digital domain and proposes a noise estimator based on the step signal model. It is efficient for any distribution of noise because it does not rely only on the smallest amplitudes in the signal or image. The proposed approach uses polarized/directional derivatives and a nonlinear combination of these derivatives to estimate the noise distribution (e.g., Gaussian, Poisson, speckle, etc.). The moments of this measured distribution can be computed and are also calculated theoretically on the basis of noise distribution models. The 1D performances are detailed, and as this paper is mostly dedicated to image processing, a 2D extension is proposed. The 2D performances for several noise distributions and noise models are presented and are compared with selected other methods.

Validation of a crop field modeling to simulate agronomic images.

In precision agriculture, crop/weed discrimination is often based on image analysis but though several algorithms using spatial information have been proposed, not any has been tested on relevant databases. A simple model that simulates virtual fields is developed to evaluate these algorithms. Virtual fields are made of crops, arranged according to agricultural practices and represented by simple patterns, and weeds that are spatially distributed using a statistical approach. It ensures a user-defined Weed Infestation Rate (WIR). Then, experimental devices using cameras are simulated with a pinhole model. Its ability to characterize the spatial reality is demonstrated through different pairs (real, virtual) of pictures. Two spatial descriptors (nearest neighbor method and Besag's function) have been set up and tested to validate the spatial realism of the crop field model, comparing a real image to the homologous virtual one.

A nonlinear derivative scheme applied to edge detection.

This paper presents a nonlinear derivative approach to addressing the problem of discrete edge detection. This edge detection scheme is based on the nonlinear combination of two polarized derivatives. Its main property is a favorable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a very low computation cost and without any regularization. A 2D extension of the method is presented and the benefits of the 2D localization are discussed. The performance of the localization and SNR are compared to that obtained using classical edge detection schemes. Tests of the regularized versions and a theoretical estimation of the SNR improvement complete this work.

Scanning from heating: 3D shape estimation of transparent objects from local surface heating.

Today, with quality becoming increasingly important, each product requires three-dimensional in-line quality control. On the other hand, the 3D reconstruction of transparent objects is a very difficult problem in computer vision due to transparency and specularity of the surface. This paper proposes a new method, called Scanning From Heating (SFH), to determine the surface shape of transparent objects using laser surface heating and thermal imaging. Furthermore, the application to transparent glass is discussed and results on different surface shapes are presented.

Optical tomography from focus.

A model and a method providing a 3D reconstruction of a given translucent object from a series of image acquisitions performed with various focus tunings is proposed. The object is imaged by transmission; refraction, reflection and diffusion effects are neglected. It is modeled as a stack of translucent parallel slices and the acquisition process can be described by a set of linear equations. We propose an efficient inversion technique with O(n) complexity, allowing practical applications with a simple laptop computer in a very reasonable time. Examples of results obtained with a simulated 3D translucent object are presented and discussed.

Boolean operations with implicit and parametric representation of primitives using R-functions.

We present a new and efficient algorithm to accurately polygonize an implicit surface generated by multiple Boolean operations with globally deformed primitives. Our algorithm is special in the sense that it can be applied to objects with both an implicit and a parametric representation, such as superquadrics, supershapes, and Dupin cyclides. The input is a Constructive Solid Geometry tree (CSG tree) that contains the Boolean operations, the parameters of the primitives, and the global deformations. At each node of the CSG tree, the implicit formulations of the subtrees are used to quickly determine the parts to be transmitted to the parent node, while the primitives' parametric definition are used to refine an intermediary mesh around the intersection curves. The output is both an implicit equation and a mesh representing its solution. For the resulting object, an implicit equation with guaranteed differential properties is obtained by simple combinations of the primitives' implicit equations using R-functions. Depending on the chosen R-function, this equation is continuous and can be differentiable everywhere. The primitives' parametric representations are used to directly polygonize the resulting surface by generating vertices that belong exactly to the zero-set of the resulting implicit equation. The proposed approach has many potential applications, ranging from mechanical engineering to shape recognition and data compression. Examples of complex objects are presented and commented on to show the potential of our approach for shape modeling.