Fourier transform vs.

Wavelet
transform
 Fourier transform
 Mainstay transform-based image processing since 1950s
 Basis functions are sinusoids
 Provides only frequency information, temporal
information is lost
 Wavelet transform
 A recent transform making it easier to compress,
transmit and analyze images
 Based on small waves, called wavelets, of varying
frequencies and limited duration
 Provides frequency as well as time information

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Multiresolution theory
 It is concerned with the representation and analysis of
signals at more than one resolution.
 Features that are undetected at one resolution may be
easy to detect at another resolution.

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Importance of multiresolution
analysis in an image
 When an image is viewed, normally the regions of
similar texture or gray values forming objects are
noticed.
 Objects with small size and low contrast are normally
examined with high resolution.
 Objects with larger size and high contrast may have a
coarse view.
 When an image contains small and large objects or low
and high contrast objects, it is advantageous to study
them at several resolutions.
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An example image

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Z-transform
 It is a generalised form of discrete Fourier transform,
which is an ideal tool for studying discrete-time,
sampled-data system.
 The z-transform of sequence x(n) for n=1,2,….. is

 Where, z is a complex variable.

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Z-transform contd…
 Downsampling by a factor of 2 in the time domain
corresponds to the simple z-transform

 where, the double arrow indicates that the left side

and the right side are z-transform pair.

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Z-transform contd…
 Similarly, upsampling by a factor of 2 in the time
domain corresponds to the simple z-domain operation

 Thus, if sequence x(n) is downsampled and

subsequently upsampled to yield then combined
equation is

 where,

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Z-transform contd…
 X(-z) term indicates the z-transform of an aliased or
modulated version of sequence x(n).
 Its z-transform is

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Image pyramids
 It is a collection of images with decreasing resolution
and size forming the shape of a pyramid.

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Image pyramids contd…
 Base J has the size 2J×2J or N×N; J=log2N
 Intermediate level j has the size 2j×2j, 0 ≤ j ≤ J
 Fully populated pyramids are composed of J+1
resolution levels from 2J×2J to 20×20
 Most pyramids are truncated to P+1 levels, j=J-P, …., J-
2, J-1, J and 1≤P ≤ J
 Total number of elements in a P+1 level pyramid for
P>0 is

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Image pyramids contd…

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Subband coding
 An image is decomposed into a set of band limited
components, called subbands.
 Subbands can be reassembled to reconstruct the
original image without error.
 Subbands are generated using band pass filter.
 As the bandwidth of subbands are smaller compared
to the original image, they can be downsampled
without loss of information.
 Reconstruction of the original image is accomplished
by upsampling, filtering and summing the individual
subbands.
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Two-band subband coding

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