Phillip A. Laplante

Fast dilation and erosion of time-varying grey-valued images with uncertainty

Two of the most important basic morphological operations used in image filtering are erosion and dilation. In this paper the authors consider the case when a finite image is part of a pixel display which changes ate discrete times. Taking advantage of the fact that not all pixels will change from time t to time t + 1, they develop two important algorithms for computing the dilation and erosion of such images in o(n2) less time then with brute force. These results hold also for translation and rotation and can be extended to opening and closing of images by structuring elements. These results are also extended to images which contain multi-uncertain values, that is, the extended fuzzy pointing set. The advantages of these fast operations are obvious in on-the-fly image processing schemes such as real-time filtering of images.

A real-time systems context for the framework for information systems architecture

In this paper we review the framework for information systems architecture first introduced by Zachman 1 and show how it can be applied in the context of real-time systems. Discussions are included throughout the paper to convey some of the characteristics unique to real-time systems and to point out areas of special architectural concern.

Issues in real-time image processing

Describes the state-of-the-art, implementations strategies and open problems in real-time image processing.<<ETX>>

An historical survey of early real-time computing developments in the U.S.

In this paper the development of real-time computing terms, systems, hardware, and software from the 1940s through the 1960s in the United States is examined. In addition, the contributions of significant individuals, corporations, and government through the projects they fostered during these early ears are surveyed. And in particular it is contended that Project Whirlwind, a post-World War II flight simulator, was the first American real-time system.

A Real-Time Image Processing Language?

Real-time image processing is widely used in multi-media systems, virtual reality and simulation, and remote command and control. Unfortunately, there is no standard language to support image processing in a real-time framework. Moreover, it is unwise to assume that other real-time programming languages can support the specialized needs of image processing.

Application of the extended fuzzy pointing set to coin grading

The application of the extended fuzzy pointing set to coin grading is described and illustrated by examples. The coin grading example considered takes advantage of the fact that the extended fuzzy pointing set S/sub n/ has been equipped with special operators with certain induced properties. In addition, the fact that the valuation space is endowed with a lattice structure is exploited. It is believed that coin grading is a paradigm for more important applications. For example, the technique considered here could be used in grading semiconductor wafers before implantation or for the interpretation of data transmitted over noisy or damaged channels such as in space communications.<<ETX>>

The Next Generation of Real-Time Operating Systems and Languages

The next generation of real-time operating systems and languages must focus on solving chronic problems facing real-time designers such as: specifying temporal behavior providing schedulability analysis supporting object-oriented paradigms providing tools In addition, these problems must be addressed so as to support a wide variety of architectures, from standard von Neumann, to non-von Neumann such as systolic wavefront transputer dataflow optical It is clear that no currently available operating system/language combination satisfies these needs.

Application of a single-instruction computer to dilation and erosion of gray-valued images

In this paper, the single instruction architecture is used to construct circuitry to perform dilation and erosion of gray valued images, where the gray values are discrete but limited only by the number of bits chosen for the binary encoding. In addition, methods for minimizing the number of cells needed, using basic digital techniques, are discussed. While others have constructed architectures for gray valued dilation and erosion, these are based on non- homogeneous circuits, and typically use Umbra transformations to handle the gray values, rather than binary encoding. Finally, it is shown that the half-adder elements used in the single instruction architecture can easily be replaced with uniform multiplexer cells in deference to the McCulloch-Pitts model of the neuron. This analogy between the single instruction architecture and the neuronal construction of the brain is intentional.

Architecture for fuzzy morphological operations

A recent paper by Sinha and Dougherty established a rigorous morphological framework for images with fuzzy valued pixels. In particular, the erosion operation, which is fundamental to image filtration schemes, is cast in this setting. In this paper, a single instruction architecture will be presented for implementing the erosion operation for fuzzy valued images. It will also be shown that this architecture is sufficient for implementing the other basic fuzzy morphologic operations namely dilation, opening and closing.

Image processing operations and their digital signal analogs

The authors demonstrate several homomorphic relationships between Minkowskis addition of black and white images and their discrete signal counterparts. In particular, several special relationships involving the Z-transform and discrete convolution of signals are used to demonstrate analagous properties in the image domain. In addition to the work in black and white images, extensions to fuzzy sets and colored images are suggested. The importance of the propositions discussed is twofold; by relating the theories of mathematical morphology in the one area are shown to have analogs in the other. The work contributes to a unified theory of image and signal processing.<<ETX>>