A general nonparametric technique is proposed for the analysis of a complex multimodal feature space and to delineate arbitrarily shaped clusters in it. The basic computational module of the technique is an old pattern recognition procedure, the mean shift. We prove for discrete data the convergence of a recursive mean shift procedure to the nearest stationary point of the underlying density function and thus its utility in detecting the modes of the density. The equivalence of the mean shift procedure to the Nadaraya–Watson estimator from kernel regression and the robust M-estimators of location is also established. Algorithms for two low-level vision tasks, discontinuity preserving smoothing and image segmentation are described as applications. In these algorithms the only user set parameter is the resolution of the analysis, and either gray level or color images are accepted as input. Extensive experimental results illustrate their excellent performance.

Clustering is the unsupervised classification of patterns (observations, data items, or feature vectors) into groups (clusters). The clustering problem has been addressed in many contexts and by researchers in many disciplines; this reflects its broad appeal and usefulness as one of the steps in exploratory data analysis. However, clustering is a difficult problem combinatorially, and differences in assumptions and contexts in different communities has made the transfer of useful generic concepts and methodologies slow to occur. This paper presents an overview of pattern clustering methods from a statistical pattern recognition perspective, with a goal of providing useful advice and references to fundamental concepts accessible to the broad community of clustering practitioners. We present a taxonomy of clustering techniques, and identify cross-cutting themes and recent advances. We also describe some important applications of clustering algorithms such as image segmentation, object recognition, and information retrieval.

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... This paper provides an up-to-date critical survey of still- and video-based face recognition research. There are two underlying motivations for us to write this survey paper: the first is to provide an up-to-date review of the existing literature, and the second is to offer some insights into the studies of machine recognition of faces. To provide a comprehensive survey, we not only categorize existing recognition techniques but also present detailed descriptions of representative methods within each category. In addition,

The primary goal of pattern recognition is supervised or unsupervised classification. Among the various frameworks in which pattern recognition has been traditionally formulated, the statistical approach has been most intensively studied and used in practice. More recently, neural network techniques and methods imported from statistical learning theory have bean receiving increasing attention. The design of a recognition system requires careful attention to the following issues: definition of pattern classes, sensing environment, pattern representation, feature extraction and selection, cluster analysis, classifier design and learning, selection of training and test samples, and performance evaluation. In spite of almost 50 years of research and development in this field, the general problem of recognizing complex patterns with arbitrary orientation, location, and scale remains unsolved. New and emerging applications, such as data mining, web searching, retrieval of multimedia data, face recognition, and cursive handwriting recognition, require robust and efficient pattern recognition techniques. The objective of this review paper is to summarize and compare some of the well-known methods used in various stages of a pattern recognition system and identify research topics and applications which are at the forefront of this exciting and challenging field.

We present a novel statistical and variational approach to image segmentation based on a new algorithm named region competition. This algorithm is derived by minimizing a generalized Bayes/MDL criterion using the variational principle. The algorithm is guaranteed to converge to a local minimum and combines aspects of snakes/balloons and region growing. Indeed the classic snakes/balloons and region growing algorithms can be directly derived from our approach. We provide theoretical analysis of region competition including accuracy of boundary location, criteria for initial conditions, and the relationship to edge detection using filters. It is straightforward to generalize the algorithm to multiband segmentation and we demonstrate it on grey level images, color images and texture images. The novel color model allows us to eliminate intensity gradients and shadows, thereby obtaining segmentation based on the albedos of objects. It also helps detect highlight regions. 1 Division of Appli...

Data mining applications place special requirements on clustering algorithms including: the ability to find clusters embedded in subspaces of high dimensional data, scalability, end-user comprehensibility of the results, non-presumption of any canonical data distribution, and insensitivity to the order of input records. We present CLIQUE, a clustering algorithm that satisfies each of these requirements. CLIQUE identifies dense clusters in subspaces of maximum dimensionality. It generates cluster descriptions in the form of DNF expressions that are minimized for ease of comprehension. It produces identical results irrespective of the order in which input records are presented and does not presume any specific mathematical form for data distribution. Through experiments, we show that CLIQUE efficiently finds accurate clusters in large high dimensional datasets.

Abstract-Over the last 20 years, several different techniques have been proposed for computer recognition of human faces. The purpose of this paper is to compare two simple but general strategies on a common database (frontal images of faces of 47 people: 26 males and 21 females, four images per person). We have developed and implemented two new algorithms; the first one is based on the computation of a set of geometrical features, such as nose width and length, mouth position, and chin shape, and the second one is based on almost-grey-level template matching. The results obtained on the testing sets (about 90 % correct recognition using geometrical features and perfect recognition using template matching) favor our implementation of the template-matching approach. Index Terms-Classification, face recognition, Karhunen-Loeve expansion, template matching.

Images containing faces are essential to intelligent vision-based human computer interaction, and research efforts in face processing include face recognition, face tracking, pose estimation, and expression recognition. However, many reported methods assume that the faces in an image or an image sequence have been identified and localized. To build fully automated systems that analyze the information contained in face images, robust and efficient face detection algorithms are required. Given a single image, the goal of face detection is to identify all image regions which contain a face regardless of its three-dimensional position, orientation, and the lighting conditions. Such a problem is challenging because faces are nonrigid and have a high degree of variability in size, shape, color, and texture. Numerous techniques have been developed to detect faces in a single image, and the purpose of this paper is to categorize and evaluate these algorithms. We also discuss relevant issues such as data collection, evaluation metrics, and benchmarking. After analyzing these algorithms and identifying their limitations, we conclude with several promising directions for future research.

A new method for real-time tracking of non-rigid objects seen from a moving camera isproposed. The central computational module is based on the mean shift iterations and nds the most probable target position in the current frame. The dissimilarity between the target model (its color distribution) and the target candidates is expressed by a metric derived from the Bhattacharyya coefficient. The theoretical analysis of the approach shows that it relates to the Bayesian framework while providing a practical, fast and efficient solution. The capability of the tracker to handle in real-time partial occlusions, significant clutter, and target scale variations, is demonstrated for several image sequences.