LVQ neural networks in color segmentation

Segmentation in color images is a complex and challenging task in particular to overcome changes in light intensity caused by noise and shadowing. Most of the segmentation algorithms do not tolerate variations in color hue corresponding to the same object. By means of the Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ) networks, neighboring neurons are able to learn how to recognize close sections of the input space. Neighboring neurons would thus correspond to color regions illuminated in different ways. This chapter presents an image segmentator approach based on LVQ networks which considers the segmentation process as a color-based pixel classification. The segmentator operates directly upon the image pixels using the classification properties of the LVQ networks. The algorithm is effectively applied to process sampled images showing its capacity to satisfactorily segment color despite remarkable illumination differences. © 2010, IGI Global