Image Editing with Intelligent Paint

Intelligent Paint provides a new tool for interactively selecting image objects or regions of interest, while simultaneously applying filters or effects directly to the selection(s). By coupling adaptive cost-ordered region growing with the high-level visual expertise of the user to indicate which objects are of interest, we are able to accurately select and edit complex, non-homogeneous objects in only a few seconds using simple mouse input gestures. Prior to selection, the image is oversegmented using a watershed (tobogganing) algorithm. Watershed catchment basins are assembled into an hierarchical image partition by grouping basins using the student’s t-distribution. Grouped basins, referred to as TRAPs (Tobogganed Region Accumulation Plateaus), reasonably capture sub-object detail. Object selection is accomplished by user-steered, adaptive, cost-ordered collection of TRAPs. Tinting or application of filters during object selection provides immediate visual feedback as to what is being selected as well as the suitability of the chosen digital effect. Intelligent Paint selection compares favorably with popular commercial tools in terms of efficiency, accuracy and reproducibility with the added benefit of on-the-fly filtering, while raising the granularity of image editing from the pixel to the object-level. Novel tools for object-centered image editing such as Intelligent Eraser and Intelligent Clone tools are also possible with this technique.