Connected component labeling is a fundamental operation in binary image processing. A plethora of algorithms have been proposed for this low-level operation with the early ones dating back to the 1960s. However, very few of these algorithms were designed to handle color images. In this paper, we present a simple algorithm for labeling connected components in color images using an approximately linear-time seed fill algorithm. Experiments on a large set of photographic and synthetic images demonstrate that the proposed algorithm provides fast and accurate labeling without requiring excessive stack space.

Date Published: 2 February 2012
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8295, Image Processing: Algorithms and Systems X; and Parallel Processing for Imaging Applications II, 82951H (2 February 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.911047

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8295:
Image Processing: Algorithms and Systems X; and Parallel Processing for Imaging Applications II
Karen O. Egiazarian; John Recker; Guijin Wang; Sos S. Agaian; Atanas P. Gotchev, Editor(s)