This book presents practical optimization techniques used in image processing and computer vision problems. Ill-posed problems are introduced and used as examples to show how each type of problem is related to typical image processing and computer vision problems. Unconstrained optimization gives the best solution based on numerical minimization of a single, scalar-valued objective function or cost function. Unconstrained optimization problems have been intensively studied, and many algorithms and tools have been developed to solve them. Most practical optimization problems, however, arise with a set of constraints. Typical examples of constraints include: (i) pre-specified pixel intensity range, (ii) smoothness or correlation with neighboring information, (iii) existence on a certain contour of lines or curves, and (iv) given statistical or spectral characteristics of the solution. Regularized optimization is a special method used to solve a class of constrained optimization problems. The term regularization refers to the transformation of an objective function with constraints into a different objective function, automatically reflecting constraints in the unconstrained minimization process. Because of its simplicity and efficiency, regularized optimization has many application areas, such as image restoration, image reconstruction, optical flow estimation, etc. Optimization plays a major role in a wide variety of theories for image processing and computer vision. Various optimization techniques are used at different levels for these problems, and this volume summarizes and explains these techniques as applied to image processing and computer vision.

This practical and authoritative text/reference presents a broad introduction to the optimization methods used specifically in computer vision. In order to facilitate understanding, the presentation of the methods is supplemented by simple flow charts, followed by pseudocode implementations that reveal deeper insights into their mode of operation. These discussions are further supported by examples taken from important applications in computer vision. Topics and features: provides a comprehensive overview of computer vision-related optimization; covers a range of techniques from classical iterative multidimensional optimization to cutting-edge topics of graph cuts and GPU-suited total variation-based optimization; describes in detail the optimization methods employed in computer vision applications; illuminates key concepts with clearly written and step-by-step explanations; presents detailed information on implementation, including pseudocode for most methods.

This book provides a platform for exploring nature-inspired optimization techniques in the context of imaging applications. Optimization has become part and parcel of all computational vision applications, and since the amount of data used in these applications is vast, the need for optimization techniques has increased exponentially. These accuracy and complexity are a major area of concern when it comes to practical applications. However, these optimization techniques have not yet been fully explored in the context of imaging applications. By presenting interdisciplinary concepts, ranging from optimization to image processing, the book appeals to a broad readership, while also encouraging budding engineers to pursue and employ innovative nature-inspired techniques for image processing applications.

An up-to-date account of the interplay between optimization and machine learning, accessible to students and researchers in both communities. The interplay between optimization and machine learning is one of the most important developments in modern computational science. Optimization formulations and methods are proving to be vital in designing algorithms to extract essential knowledge from huge volumes of data. Machine learning, however, is not simply a consumer of optimization technology but a rapidly evolving field that is itself generating new optimization ideas. This book captures the state of the art of the interaction between optimization and machine learning in a way that is accessible to researchers in both fields. Optimization approaches have enjoyed prominence in machine learning because of their wide applicability and attractive theoretical properties. The increasing complexity, size, and variety of today's machine learning models call for the reassessment of existing assumptions. This book starts the process of reassessment. It describes the resurgence in novel contexts of established frameworks such as first-order methods, stochastic approximations, convex relaxations, interior-point methods, and proximal methods. It also devotes attention to newer themes such as regularized optimization, robust optimization, gradient and subgradient methods, splitting techniques, and second-order methods. Many of these techniques draw inspiration from other fields, including operations research, theoretical computer science, and subfields of optimization. The book will enrich the ongoing cross-fertilization between the machine learning community and these other fields, and within the broader optimization community.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the International Dagstuhl-Seminar on Efficient Algorithms for Global Optimization Methods in Computer Vision, held in Dagstuhl Castle, Germany, in November 2011. The 8 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected by 12 lectures given at the seminar. The seminar focused on the entire algorithmic development pipeline for global optimization problems in computer vision: modelling, mathematical analysis, numerical solvers and parallelization. In particular, the goal of the seminar was to bring together researchers from all four fields to analyze and discuss the connections between the different stages of the algorithmic design pipeline.

This book presents a selection of the most recent algorithmic advances in Riemannian geometry in the context of machine learning, statistics, optimization, computer vision, and related fields. The unifying theme of the different chapters in the book is the exploitation of the geometry of data using the mathematical machinery of Riemannian geometry. As demonstrated by all the chapters in the book, when the data is intrinsically non-Euclidean, the utilization of this geometrical information can lead to better algorithms that can capture more accurately the structures inherent in the data, leading ultimately to better empirical performance. This book is not intended to be an encyclopedic compilation of the applications of Riemannian geometry. Instead, it focuses on several important research directions that are currently actively pursued by researchers in the field. These include statistical modeling and analysis on manifolds,optimization on manifolds, Riemannian manifolds and kernel methods, and dictionary learning and sparse coding on manifolds. Examples of applications include novel algorithms for Monte Carlo sampling and Gaussian Mixture Model fitting, 3D brain image analysis,image classification, action recognition, and motion tracking.

This book covers recent advances in image processing and imaging sciences from an optimization viewpoint, especially convex optimization with the goal of designing tractable algorithms. Throughout the handbook, the authors introduce topics on the most key aspects of image acquisition and processing that are based on the formulation and solution of novel optimization problems. The first part includes a review of the mathematical methods and foundations required, and covers topics in image quality optimization and assessment. The second part of the book discusses concepts in image formation and capture from color imaging to radar and multispectral imaging. The third part focuses on sparsity constrained optimization in image processing and vision and includes inverse problems such as image restoration and de-noising, image classification and recognition and learning-based problems pertinent to image understanding. Throughout, convex optimization techniques are shown to be a critically important mathematical tool for imaging science problems and applied extensively. Convex Optimization Methods in Imaging Science is the first book of its kind and will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, industrial researchers and engineers and those generally interested in computational aspects of modern, real-world imaging and image processing problems.