Edge Detection Techniques for Quantifying Spatial Imaging System Performance and Image Quality.

Measuring camera system performance and associating it directly to image quality is very relevant, whether images are aimed for viewing, or as input to machine learning and automated recognition algorithms. The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is a well-established measure for evaluating this performance. This study proposes a novel methodology for measuring system MTFs directly from natural scenes, by adapting the standardized Slanted Edge Method (ISO 12233). The method involves edge detection techniques, to select and extract suitable step edges from pictorial images. The scene MTF aims to account for camera non-linear scene dependent processes. This measure is more relevant to image quality modelling than the traditionally measured MTFs. Preliminary research results indicate that the proposed method can provide reliable MTFs, following the trends of the ISO 12233. Further development and validation are required before it is proposed as a universal camera measuring technique.