Unsupervised image segmentation using wavelet-domain hidden Markov models

Abstract

In this paper, we study unsupervised image segmentation using wavelet-domain hidden Markov models (HMMs), where three clustering methods are used to obtain the initial segmentation results. We first review recent supervised Bayesian image segmentation algorithms using wavelet-domain HMMs. Then, a new unsupervised segmentation approach is developed by capturing the likelihood disparity of different texture features with respect to wavelet-domain HMMs. Three clustering methods, i.e., K-mean, soft clustering and multiscale clustering, are studied to convert the unsupervised segmentation problem into the self-supervised process by identifying the reliable training samples. The simulation results on synthetic mosaics and real images show that the proposed unsupervised segmentation algorithms can achieve high classification accuracy.