Markov Random Field Modeling In Image Analysis

Markov random field (MRF) theory provides a basis for modeling contextual constraints in visual processing and interpretation. It enables us to develop optimal vision algorithms systematically when used with optimization principles. This book presents a comprehensive study on the use of MRFs for solving computer vision problems. The book covers the following parts essential to the subject: introduction to fundamental theories, formulations of MRF vision models, MRF parameter estimation, and optimization algorithms. Various vision models are presented in a unified framework, including image restoration and reconstruction, edge and region segmentation, texture, stereo and motion, object matching and recognition, and pose estimation. This second edition includes the most important progress in Markov modeling in image analysis in recent years such as Markov modeling of images with "macro" patterns (e.g. the FRAME model), Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, reversible jump MCMC. This book is an excellent reference for researchers working in computer vision, image processing, statistical pattern recognition and applications of MRFs. It is also suitable as a text for advanced courses in these areas.

Markov random field (MRF) theory provides a basis for modeling contextual constraints in visual processing and interpretation. It enables us to develop optimal vision algorithms systematically when used with optimization principles. This book presents a comprehensive study on the use of MRFs for solving computer vision problems. Various vision models are presented in a unified framework, including image restoration and reconstruction, edge and region segmentation, texture, stereo and motion, object matching and recognition, and pose estimation. This third edition includes the most recent advances and has new and expanded sections on topics such as: Bayesian Network; Discriminative Random Fields; Strong Random Fields; Spatial-Temporal Models; Learning MRF for Classification. This book is an excellent reference for researchers working in computer vision, image processing, statistical pattern recognition and applications of MRFs. It is also suitable as a text for advanced courses in these areas.

State-of-the-art research on MRFs, successful MRF applications, and advanced topics for future study. This volume demonstrates the power of the Markov random field (MRF) in vision, treating the MRF both as a tool for modeling image data and, utilizing recently developed algorithms, as a means of making inferences about images. These inferences concern underlying image and scene structure as well as solutions to such problems as image reconstruction, image segmentation, 3D vision, and object labeling. It offers key findings and state-of-the-art research on both algorithms and applications. After an introduction to the fundamental concepts used in MRFs, the book reviews some of the main algorithms for performing inference with MRFs; presents successful applications of MRFs, including segmentation, super-resolution, and image restoration, along with a comparison of various optimization methods; discusses advanced algorithmic topics; addresses limitations of the strong locality assumptions in the MRFs discussed in earlier chapters; and showcases applications that use MRFs in more complex ways, as components in bigger systems or with multiterm energy functions. The book will be an essential guide to current research on these powerful mathematical tools.

Markov random field (MRF) modeling provides a basis for the characterization of contextual constraints on visual interpretation and enables us to develop optimal vision algorithms systematically based on sound principles. This book presents a comprehensive study on using MRFs to solve computer vision problems, covering the following parts essential to the subject: introduction to fundamental theories, formulations of various vision models in the MRF framework, MRF parameter estimation, and optimization algorithms. Various MRF vision models are presented in a unified form, including image restoration and reconstruction, edge and region segmentation, texture, stereo and motion, object matching and recognition, and pose estimation. This book is an excellent reference for researchers working in computer vision, image processing, pattern recognition and applications of MRFs. It is also suitable as a text for advanced courses in the subject.

State-of-the-art research on MRFs, successful MRF applications, and advanced topics for future study. This volume demonstrates the power of the Markov random field (MRF) in vision, treating the MRF both as a tool for modeling image data and, utilizing recently developed algorithms, as a means of making inferences about images. These inferences concern underlying image and scene structure as well as solutions to such problems as image reconstruction, image segmentation, 3D vision, and object labeling. It offers key findings and state-of-the-art research on both algorithms and applications. After an introduction to the fundamental concepts used in MRFs, the book reviews some of the main algorithms for performing inference with MRFs; presents successful applications of MRFs, including segmentation, super-resolution, and image restoration, along with a comparison of various optimization methods; discusses advanced algorithmic topics; addresses limitations of the strong locality assumptions in the MRFs discussed in earlier chapters; and showcases applications that use MRFs in more complex ways, as components in bigger systems or with multiterm energy functions. The book will be an essential guide to current research on these powerful mathematical tools.

"This book is concerned with a probabilistic approach for image analysis, mostly from the Bayesian point of view, and the important Markov chain Monte Carlo methods commonly used....This book will be useful, especially to researchers with a strong background in probability and an interest in image analysis. The author has presented the theory with rigor...he doesn’t neglect applications, providing numerous examples of applications to illustrate the theory." -- MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS

This text is concerned with a probabilistic approach to image analysis as initiated by U. GRENANDER, D. and S. GEMAN, B.R. HUNT and many others, and developed and popularized by D. and S. GEMAN in a paper from 1984. It formally adopts the Bayesian paradigm and therefore is referred to as 'Bayesian Image Analysis'. There has been considerable and still growing interest in prior models and, in particular, in discrete Markov random field methods. Whereas image analysis is replete with ad hoc techniques, Bayesian image analysis provides a general framework encompassing various problems from imaging. Among those are such 'classical' applications like restoration, edge detection, texture discrimination, motion analysis and tomographic reconstruction. The subject is rapidly developing and in the near future is likely to deal with high-level applications like object recognition. Fascinating experiments by Y. CHOW, U. GRENANDER and D.M. KEENAN (1987), (1990) strongly support this belief.

Markov Random Fields in Image Segmentation provides an introduction to the fundamentals of Markovian modeling in image segmentation as well as a brief overview of recent advances in the field. Segmentation is formulated within an image labeling framework, where the problem is reduced to assigning labels to pixels. In a probabilistic approach, label dependencies are modeled by Markov random fields (MRF) and an optimal labeling is determined by Bayesian estimation, in particular maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation. The main advantage of MRF models is that prior information can be imposed locally through clique potentials. MRF models usually yield a non-convex energy function. The minimization of this function is crucial in order to find the most likely segmentation according to the MRF model. Classical optimization algorithms including simulated annealing and deterministic relaxation are treated along with more recent graph cut-based algorithms. The primary goal of this monograph is to demonstrate the basic steps to construct an easily applicable MRF segmentation model and further develop its multi-scale and hierarchical implementations as well as their combination in a multilayer model. Representative examples from remote sensing and biological imaging are analyzed in full detail to illustrate the applicability of these MRF models. Furthermore, a sample implementation of the most important segmentation algorithms is available as supplementary software. Markov Random Fields in Image Segmentation is an invaluable resource for every student, engineer, or researcher dealing with Markovian modeling for image segmentation.