From the preface of the fourth edition

In a fast developing area such as digital image processing a book that appeared in its fi rst edition in 1991 required a complete revision just six years later. But what has not changed is the proven concept, off ering a systematic approach to digital image processing with the aid of concepts and general principles also used in other areas of natural science. In this way, a reader with a general background in natural science or an engineering discipline is given fast access to the complex subject of image processing. The book covers the basics of image processing. Selected areas are treated in detail in order to introduce the reader both to the way of thinking in digital image processing and to some current research topics. Whenever possible, examples and image material are used to illustrate basic concepts. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with elementary matrix algebra and the Fourier transform.

The new edition contains four parts. Part 1 summarizes the basics required for understanding image processing. Thus there is no longer a mathematical appen- dix as in the previous editions. Part 2 on image acquisition and preprocessing has been extended by a detailed discussion of image formation. Motion analysis has been integrated into Part 3 as one component of feature extraction. Object detection, object form analysis, and object classifi cation are put together in Part 4 on image analysis.

Generally, this book is not restricted to 2-Dimage processing. Wherever possi- ble, the subjects are treated in such a manner that they are also valid for higher- dimensional image data (volumetric images, image sequences). Likewise, color images are considered as a special case of multichannel images.

Heidelberg, May 1997                                                                                     Bernd Jä hne

 

From the preface of the fi rst edition

Digital image processing is a fascinating subject in several aspects. Human be- ings perceive most of the information about their environment through their visual sense. While for a long time images could only be captured by photo- graphy, we are now at the edge of another technological revolution which al- lows image data to be captured, manipulated, and evaluated electronically with computers. With breathtaking pace, computers are becoming more powerful

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and at the same time less expensive, so that widespread applications for digital image processing emerge. In this way, image processing is becoming a tremen- dous tool for analyzing image data in all areas of natural science. For more and more scientists digital image processing will be the key to study complex scientifi c problems they could not have dreamed of tackling only a few years ago. A door is opening for new interdisciplinary cooperation merging computer science with the corresponding research areas.

Many students, engineers, and researchers in all natural sciences are faced with the problem of needing to know more about digital image processing. This book is written to meet this need. The author — himself educated in physics

— describes digital image processing as a new tool for scientifi c research. The book starts with the essentials of image processing and leads — in selected areas — to the state-of-the art. This approach gives an insight as to how image processing really works. The selection of the material is guided by the needs of a researcher who wants to apply image processing techniques in his or her fi eld. In this sense, this book tries to off er an integral view of image processing from image acquisition to the extraction of the data of interest. Many concepts and mathematical tools which fi nd widespread application in natural sciences are also applied in digital image processing. Such analogies are pointed out, since they provide an easy access to many complex problems in digital image process- ing for readers with a general background in natural sciences. The discussion of the general concepts is supplemented with examples from applications on PC-based image processing systems and ready-to-use implementations of im- portant algorithms.

I am deeply indebted to the many individuals who helped me to write this book. I do this by tracing its history. In the early 1980s, when I worked on the physics of small-scale air-sea interaction at the Institute of Environmental Physics at Hei- delberg University, it became obvious that these complex phenomena could not be adequately treated with point measuring probes. Consequently, a number of area extended measuring techniques were developed. Then I searched for tech- niques to extract the physically relevant data from the images and sought for colleagues with experience in digital image processing. The fi rst contacts were established with the Institute for Applied Physics at Heidelberg University and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. J. Bille, Dr. J. Dengler and Dr. M. Schmidt cordially for many eye-opening conversations and their cooperation.

I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. K. O. Mü nnich, director of the Institute for Environmental Physics. From the beginning, he was open-minded about new ideas on the application of digital image processing techniques in environmen- tal physics. It is due to his farsightedness and substantial support that the research group “Digital Image Processing in Environmental Physics” could de- velop so fruitfully at his institute. Many of the examples shown in this book are taken from my research at Heidelberg University and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. I gratefully acknowledge fi nancial support for this research from the German Science Foundation, the European Community, the US National Science Foundation, and the US Offi ce of Naval Research.

La Jolla, California, and Heidelberg, spring 1991                                               Bernd Jä hne

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