Automatic segmentation of objects from a single image is a challenging problem which generally requires training on large number of images. We consider the problem of automatically segmenting only the dynamic objects from a given pair of images of a scene captured from different positions. We exploit dense correspondences along with saliency measures in order to first localize the interest points on the dynamic objects from the two images. We propose a novel approach based on techniques from computational geometry in order to automatically segment the dynamic objects from both the images using a top-down segmentation strategy. We discuss how the proposed approach is unique in novelty compared to other state-of-the-art segmentation algorithms. We show that the proposed approach for segmentation is efficient in handling large motions and is able to achieve very good segmentation of the objects for different scenes. We analyse the results with respect to the manually marked ground truth segmentation masks created using our own dataset and provide key observations in order to improve the work in future.
There are methods using graphs based on max-flow min-cut algorithms which are popularly known as graph cuts @cite_12 . The energy function in a graph can be minimized by using appropriate partitioning of the graphs through cuts on the edges which link vertices which are dissimilar @cite_5 . An interactive approach based on the initialisation of a bounding box on the image was proposed using graph cuts in order to obtain segmentation. This method is popularly known as GrabCut' @cite_3 . A more advanced version of the algorithm which makes use of Djikstra algorithm for segmentation of thin structures was proposed in @cite_21 . An overview of many other undirected graph (Markov random field) based image segmentation can be found in the book by Blake @cite_34 .
@cite_21 @cite_3 @cite_5 @cite_34 @cite_12
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Graph cut is a popular technique for interactive image segmentation. However, it has certain shortcomings. In particular, graph cut has problems with segmenting thin elongated objects due to the ldquoshrinking biasrdquo. To overcome this problem, we propose to impose an additional connectivity prior, which is a very natural assumption about objects. We formulate several versions of the connectivity constraint and show that the corresponding optimization problems are all NP-hard. For some of these versions we propose two optimization algorithms: (i) a practical heuristic technique which we call DijkstraGC, and (ii) a slow method based on problem decomposition which provides a lower bound on the problem. We use the second technique to verify that for some practical examples DijkstraGC is able to find the global minimum. The problem of efficient, interactive foreground background segmentation in still images is of great practical importance in image editing. Classical image segmentation tools use either texture (colour) information, e.g. Magic Wand, or edge (contrast) information, e.g. Intelligent Scissors. Recently, an approach based on optimization by graph-cut has been developed which successfully combines both types of information. In this paper we extend the graph-cut approach in three respects. First, we have developed a more powerful, iterative version of the optimisation. Secondly, the power of the iterative algorithm is used to simplify substantially the user interaction needed for a given quality of result. Thirdly, a robust algorithm for "border matting" has been developed to estimate simultaneously the alpha-matte around an object boundary and the colours of foreground pixels. We show that for moderately difficult examples the proposed method outperforms competitive tools. In the last few years, several new algorithms based on graph cuts have been developed to solve energy minimization problems in computer vision. Each of these techniques constructs a graph such that the minimum cut on the graph also minimizes the energy. Yet, because these graph constructions are complex and highly specific to a particular energy function, graph cuts have seen limited application to date. In this paper, we give a characterization of the energy functions that can be minimized by graph cuts. Our results are restricted to functions of binary variables. However, our work generalizes many previous constructions and is easily applicable to vision problems that involve large numbers of labels, such as stereo, motion, image restoration, and scene reconstruction. We give a precise characterization of what energy functions can be minimized using graph cuts, among the energy functions that can be written as a sum of terms containing three or fewer binary variables. We also provide a general-purpose construction to minimize such an energy function. Finally, we give a necessary condition for any energy function of binary variables to be minimized by graph cuts. Researchers who are considering the use of graph cuts to optimize a particular energy function can use our results to determine if this is possible and then follow our construction to create the appropriate graph. A software implementation is freely available. Many tasks in computer vision involve assigning a label (such as disparity) to every pixel. A common constraint is that the labels should vary smoothly almost everywhere while preserving sharp discontinuities that may exist, e.g., at object boundaries. These tasks are naturally stated in terms of energy minimization. The authors consider a wide class of energies with various smoothness constraints. Global minimization of these energy functions is NP-hard even in the simplest discontinuity-preserving case. Therefore, our focus is on efficient approximation algorithms. We present two algorithms based on graph cuts that efficiently find a local minimum with respect to two types of large moves, namely expansion moves and swap moves. These moves can simultaneously change the labels of arbitrarily large sets of pixels. In contrast, many standard algorithms (including simulated annealing) use small moves where only one pixel changes its label at a time. Our expansion algorithm finds a labeling within a known factor of the global minimum, while our swap algorithm handles more general energy functions. Both of these algorithms allow important cases of discontinuity preserving energies. We experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach for image restoration, stereo and motion. On real data with ground truth, we achieve 98 percent accuracy.