Patent ID: 8406554

Claim:
A method of binarizing an image, comprising: partitioning the image into a plurality of image segments, each image segment having a plurality of image pixels; partitioning each of the plurality of image segments into a plurality of subsegments, each image subsegment having a plurality of image pixels; estimating a grey membership parameter for each image pixel for each of the plurality of image segments and subsegments; combining the grey membership parameter for each of the plurality of image pixels from each of the plurality of image segments and subsegments to estimate a net grey membership parameter for each image pixel; assigning black or white to each of the plurality of image pixels based on the estimated net grey membership parameter of each respective one of the plurality of image pixels; enhancing a contrast level of each of the plurality of image segments and subsegments to estimate a contrast-stretched grey value for each image pixel of each of the plurality of image segments and sub segments; accessing a color image or a grey image of an object; estimating a grey value for each of the plurality of image pixels of the color image or grey image; estimating mean and standard deviation of grey values of image pixels of each of the plurality of image segments and subsegments; comparing the standard deviation with a pre-determined threshold; and assigning a first grey membership parameter to image pixels of the plurality of image segments having the standard deviation below the pre-determined threshold and assigning a second grey membership parameter to image pixels of the plurality of image segments having the standard deviation above the pre-determined threshold.