Image Processing of Planar Digital Curves Using a Chain Code-based Technique for Edge Characterisation

Much effort has been expended for devising solutions to analyse edges as a basis for image understanding. This paper presents image processing and analysis tools to ensure a robust operation of such edgebased algorithms. Specifically, a systematic paradigm to branching analysis and a curve segmentation technique based on chain codes are proposed. Several curve segmentation approaches are available in the literature to break edges into primitives for edge analysis. The particular solution devised is simple and very computationally efficient. The efficacy of the set of tools (branching analysis and curve segmentation) in the applications presented show that they can be effectively incorporated in low-level and intermediate level edge processing