
Chapter 12
Shapes and Boundaries
12.1 Introduction
In this chapter we shall investigate tools for examining image shapes. Some tools have
already been discussed in Chapter 10; now we look at specific methods for examining shapes
of objects. Questions we might ask about shapes include:
• How do we tell if two objects have the same shape?
• How can we classify shape?
• How can we describe the shape of an object?
Formal means of describing shapes are called shape descriptors. Shape descriptors may
include size, symmetry, and length of perimeter. A precise definition of the exact shape in
some efficient manner is a shape representation.
In this chapter we shall ...