Data Fusion in 2D and 3D Image Processing: An Overview

Henri Maître

Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications
Département Images - CNRS URA820
46 rue Barrault - 75013 Paris - France

Abstract. This talk will present an overview of the current state of the art in image fusion, with an emphasis on the emergence of new techniques, often issued from other domains like artificial intelligence and uncertainty modeling. The following points will be addressed:

aim of data fusion and its specificity when image information has to be combined;
theoretical frameworks for modeling imprecision and uncertainty (probability, fuzzy sets, belief functions);
the main steps of image fusion:
1. modeling of the data and estimation, taking into account the imperfect aspects of the data (imprecision, uncertainty, incompletness, etc.) and of the sources (limited reliability, conflicts, etc.),
2. combination of image data issued from several sources,
3. decision making;
symbolic aspects related to image fusion, with emphasis on the respective roles of numerical and symbolic information, vs. numerical and symbolic types of treatment.

Several applications will be shown, including multi-source image classification in medical imaging as well as in satellite imaging, 3D reconstruction from multi-modality images, scene interpretation using maps and aerial images.

Isabelle Bloch is associate professor at ENST Paris (Département Images). She is graduated from Ecole des Mines de Paris in 1986, received a Ph'D from ENST Paris in 1990, and the ``Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches'' from University Paris 5 in 1995. Her research interests include 3D image and object processing, structural pattern recognition, 3D and fuzzy mathematical morphology, decision theory, data fusion in image processing, fuzzy set theory, evidence theory, medical imaging, aerial and satellite imaging.

Henri Maître received the engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France, in 1971, and the ``Docteur es Sciences'' degree in Physics from the University of Paris VI in 1982. He has taught digital picture processing since 1973 at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (ENST) in Paris, as an Assistant Professor, an Associate Professor and a Full Professor since 1982. He is Head of the Images Department. His research includes work on image analysis, image understanding and computer vision, and applications in the domains of satellite and aerial image processing, medical image processing, and processing of documents issued from the fine-arts. He has supervised 35 Ph'D theses.