A new algorithm for ellipse detection by curve segments

This paper proposes a new ellipse detection scheme using curve segments. It detects curve segments in an edge image and selects every pair of them to test whether they pertain to the same ellipse or not. if they pass the test, they are merged as a new segment. Since the proposed algorithm uses curve segments, it reduces the computation time of the conventional algorithm significantly, and detects all ellipses included in an image without missing. The experimental results have shown that its performance is more successful than other approaches in detection of ellipses when they are overlapped and partially occluded. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.