Binary object extraction using bi-directional self-organizing neural network (BDSONN) architecture with fuzzy context sensitive thresholding

A novel neural network architecture suitable for image processing applications and comprising three interconnected fuzzy layers of neurons and devoid of any back-propagation algorithm for weight adjustment is proposed in this article. The fuzzy layers of neurons represent the fuzzy membership information of the image scene to be processed. One of the fuzzy layers of neurons acts as an input layer of the network. The two remaining layers viz. the intermediate layer and the output layer are counter-propagating fuzzy layers of neurons. These layers are meant for processing the input image information available from the input layer. The constituent neurons within each layer of the network architecture are fully connected to each other. The intermediate layer neurons are also connected to the corresponding neurons and to a set of neighbors in the input layer. The neurons at the intermediate layer and the output layer are also connected to each other and to the respective neighbors of the corresponding other layer following a neighborhood based connectivity. The proposed architecture uses fuzzy membership based weight assignment and subsequent updating procedure. Some fuzzy cardinality based image context sensitive information are used for deciding the thresholding capabilities of the network. The network self organizes the input image information by counter-propagation of the fuzzy network states between the intermediate and the output layers of the network. The attainment of stability of the fuzzy neighborhood hostility measures at the output layer of the network or the corresponding fuzzy entropy measures determine the convergence of the network operation. An application of the proposed architecture for the extraction of binary objects from various degrees of noisy backgrounds is demonstrated using a synthetic and a real life image.