Patent ID: 7298899
Filing Date: 2007-11-20
Classification: G06K,G06T

Abstract:
1. An image segmentation method which pinpoints one of regions from an input image belonging to a same category and identifies the one region as an image segmentation region, said method comprising: a preparation step including, a self-excitable cell detection step of selecting one of the leader cells determined by the determination step to detect the one leader cell as a self-excitable cell; a self-excitation step of putting, into an excitation state, the self-excitable cell detected in the self-excitable cell detection step; an excitable cell detection step of detecting an excitable cell from adjacent cells based on said coupling weights between cells in the excitation state including the leader cells and the adjacent cells; an excitation step of putting, into an excitation state, the excitable cell detected in the excitable cell detection step; and an inhibition step of putting, into an inhibition state, a cell in the excitation state if no cell is detected in the excitable cell detection step, wherein: image segmentation of one region is completed by repeating the excitation step until no cell is detected any more in the excitable cell detection step; and the image segmentation of all the regions is completed by repeating the respective steps until no leader cell in the non-excitation state is detected any more in the self-excitable cell detection step, wherein I in the preparation step, the variable x in each self-excitable cell detection step, at least one non-excited leader cell is selected from among the leader cells of p in each self-excitation step, the variables x in the excitable cell detection step, if a total sum of the coupling weights W in each excitation step, the variables x in each inhibition step, if no cell is detected in the excitable cell detection step, the cells of x