Use of medial axis transforms for computing normals at boundary points

Medial axis transform (MAT) is well known for object representation. It is interesting to explore its use in different kinds of computations. In this paper an algorithm has been proposed for computation of normals at the boundaries of two-dimensional objects based on their MATs. In this technique, there is no requirement of linking boundary points during the computation compared to other existing techniques. The added advantage in the computation is that the computation can be restricted purely in the integer domain.     

Constructive generation of the medial axis for solid models

The medial axis (MA) is a simplified representation of complicated models which is widely used in current research. However, the efficient generation of the MA for complicated solid models continues to pose a challenge. In this study, a constructive approach for the generation of the MA is proposed for solid models after they are voxelized. With this method, the MA of the model constructed from two operand models via a Boolean operation is efficiently generated by merging the MAs of the operand models in a certain way, instead of regenerating them from scratch. To support the proposed method, the affected region of the resultant model is computed first using a Boolean operation. Second, only the MA in the affected region is regenerated by distance dilation. Third, the complete MA of the resultant model is constructed by combining the newly generated MA with the unchanged MAs of the operand models. In this study, the accuracy and complexity are analyzed for the final MA and some examples are given to illustrate the performance of the proposed method.     

Adaptive total variation denoising based on difference curvature

Image denoising methods based on gradient dependent regularizers such as Rudin et al.’s total variation (TV) model often suffer the staircase effect and the loss of fine details. In order to overcome such drawbacks, this paper presents an adaptive total variation method based on a new edge indicator, named difference curvature, which can effectively distinguish between edges and ramps. With adaptive regularization and fidelity terms, the new model has the following properties: at object edges, the regularization term is approximate to the TV norm in order to preserve the edges, and the weight of the fidelity term is large in order to preserve details; in flat and ramp regions, the regularization term is approximate to the L2 norm in order to avoid the staircase effect, and the weight of the fidelity term is small in order to strongly remove the noise. Comparative results on both synthetic and natural images demonstrate that the new method can avoid the staircase effect and better preserve fine details.     

Computation of medial axis and offset curves of curved boundaries in planar domain

In this paper, we begin our research from the generating theory of the medial axis. The normal equidistant mapping relationships between two boundaries and its medial axis have been proposed based on the moving Frenet frames and Cesaro’s approach of the differential geometry. Two pairs of adjoint curves have been formed and the geometrical model of the medial axis transform of the planar domains with curved boundaries has been established. The relations of position mapping, scale transform and differential invariants between the curved boundaries and the medial axis have been investigated. Based on this model, a tracing algorithm for the computation of the medial axis has been generated. In order to get the accurate medial axis and branch points, a Two_Tangent_Points_Circle algorithm and a Three_Tangent_Points_Circle algorithm have been generated, which use the results of the tracing algorithm as the initial values to make the iterative process effective. These algorithms can be used for the computation of the medial axis effectively and accurately. Based on the medial axis transform and the envelope theory, the trimmed offset curves of curved boundaries have been investigated. Several numerical examples are given at the end of the paper.     

Total variation and high-order total variation adaptive model for restoring blurred images with Cauchy noise

In this paper, we propose a novel model to restore an image corrupted by blur and Cauchy noise. The model is composed of a data fidelity term and two regularization terms including total variation and high-order total variation. Total variation provides well-preserved edge features, but suffers from staircase effects in smooth regions, whereas high-order total variation can alleviate staircase effects. Moreover, we introduce a strategy for adaptively selecting regularization parameters. We develop an efficient alternating minimization algorithm for solving the proposed model. Numerical examples suggest that the proposed method has the advantages of better preserving edges and reducing staircase effects.     

总变差正则化断层图像重建的解耦Bregman迭代算法

在断层重建的很多工程应用中,由于低剂量以及成像硬件等原因,经常需要在测量数据不充分的情况下去重建图像。基于图像分段光滑的假设,提出采用误差的加权范数作为数据保真项,TV（total variation）作为正则项的断层图像重建模型。该模型求解时,首先通过引入代理函数将原问题解耦为残差的加权范数最小化和加权范数TV去噪这两个子问题;然后采用了Chambolle的对偶空间正交投影法的框架对加权范数TV去噪问题进行求解,避免了由于TV项在不可导处所带来的计算不稳定;最后,为了提高收敛速度并且避免由正则化参数选取所引起的数值不稳定,引入Bregman方法,给出该模型的快速迭代算法。在扇形束少角度欠采样的条件下,对理想情况和高斯噪声情况下进行仿真测试,并同多种算法进行了比较。实验结果表明,该算法重建效果好,收敛速度快。     

全变分正则化非局部均值地震数据降噪

在地震数据的采集中往往存在随机噪声,噪声会影响地震数据分析的准确性,针对地震数据中存在的高斯噪声,传统非局部均值降噪算法在对地震数据降噪后无法有效保持地震数据中的同相轴边缘。将全变分正则化非局部均值算法应用于地震数据降噪,通过计算噪声估计值,更新去抖动非局部均值算法的权值,将去抖动非局部均值降噪结果进行全变分正则化约束,得到最佳的地震数据降噪结果。在有效去除高斯噪声的同时,保留地震数据的同相轴边缘。通过在合成地震数据、海上叠前地震数据、陆上叠后地震数据上进行降噪实验,对比该算法与非局部均值算法、基于近邻法选择策略的非局部均值算法的峰值信噪比、均方误差、平均结构相似度,得出全变分正则化非局部均值降噪算法在有效降噪的同时,可以较完整地保留地震数据的同相轴边缘细节。     

Besov空间下迭代全变差正则化的图像恢复模型

在Besov空间下,提出了一种用于图像恢复领域的迭代全变差正则化模型。通过使用一个加权的参数序列,给出了一个迭代正则化的变分问题,这个变分问题实际上是一个小波软硬阈值结合的迭代程序。给出了新模型的停止标准和一些好的性质,如单调性和收敛性等。数值实验表明与传统去噪方法相比,新方法不仅能较好地恢复图像,而且收敛速度较快。     

Some First-Order Algorithms for Total Variation Based Image Restoration

This paper deals with first-order numerical schemes for image restoration. These schemes rely on a duality-based algorithm proposed in 1979 by Bermùdez and Moreno. This is an old and forgotten algorithm that is revealed wider than recent schemes (such as the Chambolle projection algorithm) and able to improve contemporary schemes. Total variation regularization and smoothed total variation regularization are investigated. Algorithms are presented for such regularizations in image restoration. We prove the convergence of all the proposed schemes. We illustrate our study with numerous numerical examples. We make some comparisons with a class of efficient algorithms (proved to be optimal among first-order numerical schemes) recently introduced by Y. Nesterov.     

非凸全变分正则化模糊图像复原模型研究

拍摄过程中的相对运动,导致获取图像存在一定程度的模糊,降低了其利用价值。在贝叶斯框架下,基于图像的局部结构特征和方向信息测度,提出了改进的自适应非凸全变分正则化图像复原模型,充分利用图像的全局和局部先验信息,有效抑制了复原图像中存在的振铃效应。实验结果表明,提出的改进模型在复原图像的同时能够保留图像的边缘轮廓等结构信息,得到的复原图像在峰值信噪比、平均结构相似度和主观视觉效果方面均有所提高。     

Medial axis computation for planar free-form shapes

We present a simple, efficient, and stable method for computing—with any desired precision—the medial axis of simply connected planar domains. The domain boundaries are assumed to be given as polynomial spline curves. Our approach combines known results from the field of geometric approximation theory with a new algorithm from the field of computational geometry. Challenging steps are (1) the approximation of the boundary spline such that the medial axis is geometrically stable, and (2) the efficient decomposition of the domain into base cases where the medial axis can be computed directly and exactly. We solve these problems via spiral biarc approximation and a randomized divide & conquer algorithm.     

Spatially dependent regularization parameter selection in total generalized variation models for image restoration

In this paper, the automated spatially dependent regularization parameter selection framework for multi-scale image restoration is applied to total generalized variation (TGV) of order 2. Well-posedness of the underlying continuous models is discussed and an algorithm for the numerical solution is developed. Experiments confirm that due to the spatially adapted regularization parameter, the method allows for a faithful and simultaneous recovery of fine structures and smooth regions in images. Moreover, because of the TGV regularization term, the adverse staircasing effect, which is a well-known drawback of the total variation regularization, is avoided.     

LayTracks3D: A new approach for meshing general solids using medial axis transform

This paper presents an extension of the all-quad meshing algorithm called LayTracks to generate high quality hex-dominant meshes of general solids. LayTracks3D uses the mapping between the Medial Axis (MA) and the boundary of the 3D domain to decompose complex 3D domains into simpler domains called Tracks. Tracks in 3D have no branches and are symmetric, non-intersecting, orthogonal to the boundary, and the shortest path from the MA to the boundary. These properties of tracks result in desired meshes with near cube shape elements at the boundary, structured mesh along the boundary normal with any irregular nodes restricted to the MA, and sharp boundary feature preservation. The algorithm has been tested on a few industrial CAD models and hex-dominant meshes are shown in the Results section. Work is underway to extend LayTracks3D to generate all-hex meshes.     

混合高阶全变差正则化的运动模糊图像盲复原

针对运动模糊图像的盲复原,提出一种基于混合高阶全变差正则化的盲复原方法。该方法首先采用shock滤波器从模糊图像中预测出清晰的图像边缘,并用多尺度策略实现对模糊核由粗到细的准确估计。然后根据自然图像边缘的稀疏特性,将全变差模型的保护边缘特性结合高阶全变差克服平滑区域阶梯效应的优势,对图像进行正则化约束,提出新的混合高阶全变差正则化模型。最后,利用分裂布雷格曼迭代策略对提出模型进行最优化求解。实验结果表明,提出的方法能够很好地保护图像边缘细节,同时有效地抑制平滑区域内振铃和阶梯效应的产生,获得高质量的复原图像。与近几年图像盲复原算法相比,不仅改进了复原图像的主观视觉效果,而且客观上提高了峰值信噪比。     

Total variation, adaptive total variation and nonconvex smoothly clipped absolute deviation penalty for denoising blocky images

The total variation-based image denoising model has been generalized and extended in numerous ways, improving its performance in different contexts. We propose a new penalty function motivated by the recent progress in the statistical literature on high-dimensional variable selection. Using a particular instantiation of the majorization-minimization algorithm, the optimization problem can be efficiently solved and the computational procedure realized is similar to the spatially adaptive total variation model. Our two-pixel image model shows theoretically that the new penalty function solves the bias problem inherent in the total variation model. The superior performance of the new penalty function is demonstrated through several experiments. Our investigation is limited to “blocky” images which have small total variation.     

A Truncated Lagrange Method for Total Variation-Based Image Restoration

In the last years, Total Variation minimization has become a popular and valuable technique for the restoration of noisy and blurred images. In this paper, we present a new technique for image restoration based on Total Variation minimization and the discrepancy principle. The new approach replaces the original image restoration problem with an equality constrained minimization problem. An inexact Newton method is applied to the first-order conditions of the constrained problem. The stopping criterium is derived from the discrepancy principle. Numerical results of image denoising and image deblurring test problems are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the new approach.