Linear Scale-Space Theory from Physical Principles

In the past decades linear scale-space theory was derived on the basis of various axiomatics. In this paper we revisit these axioms and show that they merely coincide with the following physical principles, namely that the image domain is a Galilean space, that the total energy exchange between a region and its surrounding is preserved under linear filtering and that the physical observables should be invariant under the group of similarity transformations. These observables are elements of the similarity jet spanned by natural coordinates and differential energies read out by a vision system. Furthermore, linear scale-space theory is extended to spatio-temporal images on bounded and curved domains. Our theory permits a delay-operation at the present moment which is in agreement with the motion detection model of Reichardt. In this respect our theory deviates from that of Koenderink which requires additional syntactical operators to realise such a delay-operation. Finally, the semi-di...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 1998
• Where: JMIV
• Authors: Alfons H. Salden, Bart M. ter Haar Romeny, Max A. Viergever
• Keywords: Discrete Green Functions, Green’s Functions, JMIV 1998, Theory