Recognition of local symmetries in gray value images by harmonic functions

A method for modeling symmetries of the neighborhoods in gray-value images is derived. It is based on the form of the iso-gray-value curves. For every neighborhood a complex number is obtained through a convolution of a complex-valued image with a complex-valued filter. The magnitude of the complex number is the degree of symmetry with respect to the a priori chosen harmonic function pair. The degree of symmetry has a clear definition which is based on the error in the Fourier domain. The argument of the complex number is the angle representing the relative dominance of one of the pair of harmonic functions compared to the other.<
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