Skin segmentation using multiple thresholding

Francesca Gasparini; Raimondo Schettini

doi:10.1117/12.647446

16 January 2006 Skin segmentation using multiple thresholding

Proceedings Volume 6061, Internet Imaging VII; 60610F (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.647446
Event: Electronic Imaging 2006, 2006, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

The segmentation of skin regions in color images is a preliminary step in several applications. Many different methods for discriminating between skin and non-skin pixels are available in the literature. The simplest, and often applied, methods build what is called an "explicit skin cluster" classifier which expressly defines the boundaries of the skin cluster in certain color spaces. These binary methods are very popular as they are easy to implement and do not require a training phase. The main difficulty in achieving high skin recognition rates, and producing the smallest possible number of false positive pixels, is that of defining accurate cluster boundaries through simple, often heuristically chosen, decision rules. In this study we apply a genetic algorithm to determine the boundaries of the skin clusters in multiple color spaces. To quantify the performance of these skin detection methods, we use recall and precision scores. A good classifier should provide both high recall and high precision, but generally, as recall increases, precision decreases. Consequently, we adopt a weighted mean of precision and recall as the fitness function of the genetic algorithm. Keeping in mind that different applications may have sharply different requirements, the weighting coefficients can be chosen to favor either high recall or high precision, or to satisfy a reasonable tradeoff between the two, depending on application demands. To train the genetic algorithm (GA) and test the performance of the classifiers applying the GA suggested boundaries, we use the large and heterogeneous Compaq skin database.

Citation Download Citation

Francesca Gasparini and Raimondo Schettini "Skin segmentation using multiple thresholding", Proc. SPIE 6061, Internet Imaging VII, 60610F (16 January 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.647446

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available