Interactive Segmentation by Image Foresting Transform on Superpixel Graphs

There are many scenarios in which user interaction is essential for effective image segmentation. In this paper, we present a new interactive segmentation method based on the Image Foresting Transform (IFT). The method over segments the input image, creates a graph based on these segments (super pixels), receives markers (labels) drawn by the user on some super pixels and organizes a competition to label every pixel in the image. Our method has several interesting properties: it is effective, efficient, capable of segmenting multiple objects in almost linear time on the number of super pixels, readily extendable through previously published techniques, and benefits from domain-specific feature extraction. We also present a comparison with another technique based on the IFT, which can be seen as its pixel-based counterpart. Another contribution of this paper is the description of automatic (robot) users. Given a ground truth image, these robots simulate interactive segmentation by trained and untrained users, reducing the costs and biases involved in comparing segmentation techniques.