Skip to main content

Detection of horizontal lines in noisy run length encoded images: The FAST method

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1072))

Abstract

We present a fast method for finding horizontal lines in run length encoded images. The method was motivated by the need for quick and reliable detection of horizontal lines in an interactive drawing conversion system for telephone company drawings. At the core of the algorithm are the processes of filtering run lengths, assembling filtered run lengths, generating top silhouette, and thresholding the gradient of the top silhouette to extract one horizontal line at a time. The method is robust in the presence of distortion; it can tolerate significant skew and warping, both local and global, and can bridge significant breaks in lines without too many false positive lines.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Chhabra, A.K., Surya, S., and Misra, V.: Fast detection of horizontal lines in telephone company drawings. In Proceedings of the IAPR International Workshop on Graphics Recognition, pages 13–22, University Park, PA, August 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Lam, L., Lee, S.W., and Suen, C.Y.: Thinning methodologies — A comprehensive survey. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 14(9):869–885, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Filipski, A.J. and Flandrena, R.: Automated conversion of engineering drawings to CAD form. Proceedings of the IEEE, 80(7):1195–1209, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Ramer, U.: An iterative procedure for the polygonal approximation of plane curves. Computer Graphics and Image Processing, 1:244–256, 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Douglas, D.H. and Peucker, T.K.: Algorithms for reduction of the number of points required to present a digitized line or its caricature. The Canadian Cartographer, 10(2):112–122, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Hough, P.V.C.: Methods and means for recognizing complex patterns. U.S. Patent 3,069,654, 1962.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Duda, R.O. and Hart, P.E.: Use of the Hough transform to detect lines and curves in pictures. Communications of the ACM, 15(1):11–15, 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Turolla, E., Belaid, Y., and Belaid, A.: Form item extraction based on line searching. In Proceedings of the IAPR International Workshop on Graphics Recognition, pages 262–271, University Park, PA, August 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Pavlidis, T.: A vectorizer and feature extractor for document recognition. Computer Vision, Graphics, and Image Processing, 35:111–127, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Dori, D., Liang, Y., Dowell, J., and Chai, I.: Sparse-pixel recognition of primitives in engineering drawings. Machine Vision and Applications, 6:69–82, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Chai, I. and Dori, D.: Orthogonal zig-zag: An efficient method for extracting bars in engineering drawings. In Arcelli, C., Cordella, L.P., and Sanniti di Baja, G., editors, Visual Form, pages 127–136. Plenum, New York, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Casey, R., Ferguson, D., Mohiuddin, K., and Wallach, E.: Intelligent forms processing system. Machine Vision and Applications, 5(3):143–155, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Taylor, S.L., Fritzson, R., and Pastor, J.A.: Extraction of data from preprinted forms. Machine Vision and Applications, 5:211–222, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Janssen, R.D.T.: The application of model based image processing to the interpretation of maps. PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  15. GTX Corporation, Phoenix, AZ. GTXRaster CAD PLUSTM Software, Version 2.6, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Rangachar Kasturi Karl Tombre

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Chhabra, A.K., Misra, V., Arias, J. (1996). Detection of horizontal lines in noisy run length encoded images: The FAST method. In: Kasturi, R., Tombre, K. (eds) Graphics Recognition Methods and Applications. GREC 1995. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1072. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-61226-2_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-61226-2_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-61226-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68387-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics