Method and apparatus for semi-automatic finger extraction

An image processing method comprising:

• performing a click on an object image contained in an image to obtain a clicked point;
• calculating an edge map of the image;
• estimating a color model of the object image based on the clicked point and the edge map;
• classifying each pixel in the image, based on the edge map and the color model, so as to obtain a binary image of the image;
• and
• detecting a region containing the object image based on the binary image,
• wherein the step of estimating a color model of the object image based on the clicked point and the edge map comprises:
• acquiring an extension region containing the clicked point based on the clicked point and the edge map, the extension region being within the object image;
• and
• acquiring the color model of the object image based on a color of each pixel within the extension region,
• wherein the step of acquiring an extension region containing the clicked point based on the clicked point and the edge map comprises:
• setting a maximum extension region containing the clicked point;
• searching, as a left boundary pixel of the extension region, the first one of boundary pixels leftward in a horizontal direction from the clicked point;
• searching, as a right boundary pixel of the extension region, the first one of the boundary pixels rightward in the horizontal direction from the clicked point;
• and
• setting, for each reference pixel between the left boundary pixel and the right boundary pixel in the horizontal direction, an upper boundary pixel and a lower boundary pixel of the extension region by steps of:
• searching, as the upper boundary pixel of the extension region, the first one of the boundary pixels upward in a vertical direction from the reference pixel;
• and
• searching, as the lower boundary pixel of the extension region, the first one of the boundary pixels downward in the vertical direction from the reference pixel, wherein,
• a sliding window is set taking each pixel within the maximum extension region as a center, the number of edge pixels in the sliding window is counted, and a pixel satisfying a condition that the number of the edge pixels in the sliding window is larger than a predetermined threshold is defined as the boundary pixel.