AN EDGE FOLLOWING ALGORITHM AND ITS APPLICATION

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present an algorithm to following edges, curves on pixel based pictures. The application for which the method was developed is a 3D modeller system. The main target was the accuracy of the scanner (so the accuracy of the algorithm), the speed was a secondary factor. An active triangular scanner configuration was implemented (described later) with a matrix camera, so the input image of the algorithm is a bitmap of the connected frame grabber. However, this method is usable in pattern recognition, in vectorisation of pixel based images, in geography or in other 3D scanning methods. The advantage of the algorithm (and the ground of the accuracy) is that it takes into consideration the noise of the image system and the profile of a curve. The binarisation of the image (applying a threshold) is a waste of information, so this edge following algorithm tries to use the valuable information encoded in grey levels.