Basic Relationships between

Pixels
Neighbors of a
Pixel
Y

X
 Neighbors of a
Pixel
f(0, f(0, f(0,2 f(0, f(0,4) - - -
0) 1) ) 3) --
f(x,y) f(1, f(1, f(1, f(1, f(1,4) - - -
= 0) 1) 2) 3) --
f(2, f(2, f(2,2 f(2, f(2,4)
I - -- -- --
0) 1) ) 3) - --
f(3, f(3, f(3, f(3, f(3,4)
I - -- -- --
0) 1) I 2) I 3) I - --
I I I I
I Y

X
 Neighbors of a
Pixel
f(0, f(0, f(0,2 f(0, f(0,4) - - -
0) 1) ) 3) --
f(x,y) f(1, f(1, f(1, f(1, f(1,4) - - -
= 0) 1) 2) 3) --
f(2, f(2, f(2,2 f(2, f(2,4) I -- - -
0) 1) ) 3) - --
f(3, f(3, f(3, f(3, f(3,4)I - -- -- --
0)
 A Pixel p at coordinates 1)
( x,I y) 2)
hasI 4 horizontal
3) I - - - and
vertical neighbors.I I I I
I
 Their
(x+1,coordinates(x-1, y) by: (x, y+1)
are given & (x, y-
y) 1)
f(2,1) f(0,1) f(1,2) f(1,0)
 This set of pixels is called the 4-neighbors of p
denoted by N4(p).

 Each pixel is unit distance from ( x ,y).

 Neighbors of a
Pixel
f(0, f(0, f(0,2 f(0, f(0,4) - - -
0) 1) ) 3) --
f(x,y) f(1, f(1, f(1, f(1, f(1,4) - - -
= 0) 1) 2) 3) --
f(2, f(2, f(2,2 f(2, f(2,4)
I -- - -
0) 1) ) 3) - --
f(3, f(3, f(3, f(3, f(3,4)
I -- - -
0)
 A Pixel p at coordinates 1)
( x,I y) 2)
hasI 4 3) I - - - neighbors.
diagonal
I I I I
 Their coordinates Iare given by:
(x+1, (x+1, y- (x-1, & (x-1, y-
y+1) 1) y+1) 1)
 This
f(2,2)
set of pixels isf(2,0) f(0,2)
called the diagonal-neighbors f(0,0)
of p
denoted by ND(p).

 diagonal neighbors + 4-neighbors = 8-neighbors

of p.
Basic Relationships Between Pixels

• Neighborhood

• Adjacency

• Connectivity

• Paths

• Regions and boundaries

10
 Neighbors of a Pixel
• A pixel p at coordinates (x,y) has four horizontal and vertical neighbors
whose coordinates are given by:
(x+1,y), (x-1, y), (x, y+1), (x,y-1)

(x, y-1)

(x-1, y) P (x,y) (x+1, y)

(x, y+1)

This set of pixels, called the 4-neighbors or p, is denoted by N4(p). Each pixel is
one unit distance from (x,y) and some of the neighbors of p lie outside the
digital image if (x,y) is on the border of the image.
• Neighbors of a Pixel
• The four diagonal neighbors of p have coordinates:
(x+1, y+1), (x+1, y-1), (x-1, y+1), (x-1, y-1)

(x-1, y+1) (x+1, y-1)

P (x,y)
(x-1, y-1) (x+1, y+1)

and are denoted by ND (p).

These points, together with the 4-neighbors, are called the 8-neighbors of p, denoted by N8 (p).
(x-1, y+1) (x, y-1) (x+1, y-1)
(x-1, y) P (x,y) (x+1, y)
(x-1, y-1) (x, y+1) (x+1, y+1)

As before, some of the points in ND (p) and N8 (p) fall outside the image if (x,y) is on the border of the image.
Adjacency and
Connectivity
• Let V: a set of intensity values used to define
adjacency and connectivity.
• In a binary image, V = {1}, if we are referring to
adjacency of pixels with value 1.
• In a gray-scale image, the idea is the same, but
V typically contains more elements, for
example, V = {180, 181, 182, …, 200}
• If the possible intensity values 0 – 255, V set can
be any subset of these 256 values.
Types of Adjacency
1. 4-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with values from
V are 4-adjacent if q is in the set N4(p).
2. 8-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with values from
V are 8-adjacent if q is in the set N8(p).
3. m-adjacency =(mixed)
Basic Relationships Between Pixels

• Neighbors of a pixel p at coordinates (x,y)

 4-neighbors of p, denoted by N4(p):

(x-1, y), (x+1, y), (x,y-1), and (x, y+1).

 4 diagonal neighbors of p, denoted by ND(p):

(x-1, y-1), (x+1, y+1), (x+1,y-1), and (x-1, y+1).

 8 neighbors of p, denoted N8(p)

N8(p) = N4(p) U ND(p)
Weeks 1 & 2 16
Basic Relationships Between
Pixels
• Adjacency
Let V be the set of intensity values

4-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with values from V are 4-

adjacent if q is in the set N4(p).

8-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with values from V are 8-

adjacent if q is in the set N8(p).

Weeks 1 & 2 17
Basic Relationships Between
Pixels
• Adjacency
Let V be the set of intensity values

m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with values from V are m-

adjacent if

(i) q is in the set N4(p), or

(ii) q is in the set ND(p) and the set N4(p) ∩ N4(p) has no pixels whose values
are from V.

Weeks 1 & 2 18
 Basic Relationships Between
Pixels
• Path
 A (digital) path (or curve) from pixel p with coordinates (x0, y0) to pixel q with
coordinates (xn, yn) is a sequence of distinct pixels with coordinates

(x0, y0), (x1, y1), …, (xn, yn)

Where (xi, yi) and (xi-1, yi-1) are adjacent for 1 ≤ i ≤ n.

 Here n is the length of the path.

 If (x0, y0) = (xn, yn), the path is closed path.

 We can define 4-, 8-, and m-paths based on the type of adjacency used.
Weeks 1 & 2 19
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
Adjacency: Two pixels are adjacent if they are
neighbors and
their intensity level ‘V’ satisfy some specific criteria of
similarity.

e.g. V = {1}
V = { 0, 2}
Binary image = { 0, 1}
Gray scale image = { 0, 1, 2, ------, 255}

In binary images, 2 pixels are adjacent if they are

neighbors & have some intensity values either 0 or 1.

In gray scale, image contains more gray level values

in range 0 to
255.
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
4-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values from
set ‘V’ are 4-
adjacent if q is in the set of N4(p).

e.g. V = { 0,
1}

1 1 0
1 1 0
1 0 1
p in RED color
q can be any value in
GREEN color.
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
8-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are 8-
adjacent if q is in the set of N8(p).

e.g. V = { 1,
2}

0 1 1
0 2 0
0 0 1
p in RED color
q can be any value in
GREEN color
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in N4(p)OR
(ii q is in ND(p) & the set N4(p) n N4(q) have
) no pixels whose values are from ‘V’.
e.g. V = { 1 }

0 a 1b1c
0 d 1e0f
0 g 0h1i
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in N4(p)
e.g. V = { 1 }
(i) b &
c
0 a 1 b 1
c
0 d 1 e 1f
0 g 0 h 1I
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in N4(p)
e.g. V = { 1 }
(i) b &
c
0 a 1 b 1
c
0 d 1 e 1f
0 g 0 h 1I

Soln: b & c are m-

adjacent.
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in N4(p)
e.g. V = { 1 }
(ii) b
&e
0 a 1 b 1
c
0 d 1 e 1f
0 g 0 h 1I
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in N4(p)
e.g. V = { 1 }
(ii) b
&e
0 a 1 b 1
c
0 d 1 e 1f
0 g 0 h 1I

Soln: b & e are m-

adjacent.
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in N4(p)OR
e.g. V = { 1 }
(iii) e
&i
0 a 1 b 1
c
0 d 1 e 1f
0 g 0 h 1i
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in ND(p) & the set N4(p) n N4(q) have

no pixels whose
values are from ‘V’.
e.g. V = { 1 } 0a 1b 1c
0
(iii) e & i
d 1e0f
0 g 0h1I
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in ND(p) & the set N4(p) n N4(q) have

no pixels whose
values are from ‘V’.
e.g. V = { 1 } 0a 1b 1c
0
(iii) e & i
d 1e0f
0 g 0h1I

Soln: e & i are m-

adjacent.
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in N4(p)OR
(ii q is in ND(p) & the set N4(p) n N4(q) have
) no pixels whose values are from ‘V’.
e.g. V = { 1 }
(iv) e & c
0 a 1b1c
0 d 1e0f
0 g 0h1I
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
m-adjacency: Two pixels p and q with the values
from set ‘V’ are
m-adjacent if
(i) q is in N4(p)OR
(ii q is in ND(p) & the set N4(p) n N4(q) have
) no pixels whose values are from ‘V’.
e.g. V = { 1 }
(iv) e & c
0 a 1b1c
0 d 1e0f
0 g 0h1I
Soln: e & c are NOT m-
adjacent.
 Adjacency,
Connectivity
Connectivity: 2 pixels are said to be connected if
their exists a path
between them.

Let ‘S’ represent subset of pixels in an image.

Two pixels p & q are said to be connected in ‘S’ if their

exists a path between them consisting entirely of
pixels in ‘S’.

For any pixel p in S, the set of pixels that are

connected to it in S is called a
connected component of S.
 Paths
Paths: A path from pixel p with coordinate (
x, y) with pixel q with coordinate ( s, t) is a
sequence of distinct sequence with
coordinates (x0, y0), (x1, y1), ….., (xn, yn)
where

(x, y) = (x0, y0)

& (s, t) = (xn, yn)

Closed path: (x0, y0) = (xn, yn)

 Paths
Example # 1: Consider the image segment shown in
figure. Compute length of the shortest-4, shortest-8 &
shortest-m paths between pixels p & q where,
V = {1, 2}.

4 2 3 2
q
3 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-4
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-4
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-4
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-4
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-4
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-4
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3
2q
3 3 1
3
So, Path does not
2 3 2
exist. 2
p2 1 2 3
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-8
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-8
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-8
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-8
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-8
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-8
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3
2q
3 3 1
3
So, shortest-8
2 3 2
path = 4 2
p2 1 2 3
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-m
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-m
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-m
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-m
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-m
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-m
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3 2
3
q 3 1 3
2 3 2 2
p 1 2 3
2
 Paths
Example #
1:

Shortest-m
path:

V = {1, 2}.
4 2 3
2q
3 3 1
3
2 3 2
So, shortest-m
path = 5
2
p2 1 2 3
 Regions &
Boundaries
Region: Let R be a subset of pixels in an image. Two
regions Ri and Rj are
said to be adjacent if their union form a connected set.

Regions that are not adjacent are said to be disjoint.

We consider 4- and 8- adjacency when referring to regions.

Below regions are adjacent only if 8-adjacency is used.

1 1 1
1 0 1 Ri
0 1 0
0 0 1
1 1 1 Rj
1 1 1
 Regions &
Boundaries
Boundaries (border or contour): The boundary of
a region R is
the set of points that are adjacent to points in the
compliment of0R. 0 0 0 0
0 1 1 0 0
0 1 1 0 0
0 1 1 1 0
0 1 1 1 0
0 0 0 0 0

RED colored 1 is NOT a member of border if 4-

connectivity is used between region and
background. It is if 8-connectivity is used.
 Distance
Measures
Distance Measures: Distance between pixels p,
q & z with co-
ordinates ( x, y), ( s, t) & ( v, w) resp. is given by:
a) D( p, q) ≥ 0 [ D( p, q) = …………..called
0 if p = q] reflexivity
b) D( p, q) = D( q, p) .………….called
c) D( p, z) ≤ D( p, q) + symmetry
D( q, z) ..………….called
Euclidean distance between p & q is
transmitivity
defined as-

De( p, q) = [( x- s)2 + (y
- t)2]1/2
 Distance
Measures
City Block Distance: The D4 distance between p & q
is defined as

D4( p, q) = |x - s| + |y - t|

In this case, pixels having D4 distance from ( x, y) less

than or equal to some value r form a diamond
centered at ( x, y).
2
2 1 2
2 1 0 1 2
2 1 2
2
Pixels with D4 distance ≤ 2 forms the following contour
 Distance
Measures
Chess-Board Distance: The D8 distance between p
& q is
defined as

D8( p, q) = max( |x - s| , |y - t| )

In this case, pixels having D8 distance from ( x, y) less

than or equal 2 2 2 2 2
to some value r form a square centered at ( x, y).
2 1 1 1 2
2 1 0 1 2
2 1 1 1 2
2 2 2 2 2
Pixels with D8 distance ≤ 2 forms the following contour
of constant distance.