Detect cubic curve with Hough transform - computer-vision

I have a picture with a curve which can be defined by the following equation:
y = ax^3 + bx^2 + cx + d
It is obvious how to use the normal Hough transform to detect the curve. However, I want to reduce the parameter space by using the gradient direction (I already got it from edge detection). I am not sure how to use the gradient direction to reduce the parameter space.
An idea I had is to find the derivative dy/dx = 3ax^2 + 2bx + c . Now I have only three parameters hence my task is easier. Is this correct tho? How do I get the d parameter if I use this?

After running Hough for dy/dx = 3x^2 + 2ax + b
you have
c = f(x,y) = y - x^3 + ax^2 + bx
where a and b are known.
Why not another pass, this time looking only for c?
Two dimensional accumulator, and then 1 dim is better then 3 dimensional accumulator, anyway.

Related

Projectile Motion in 3D: Calculating Time of Collision

I'm writing a function that takes in an object with a trajectory (including starting position, starting velocity, and acceleration, all represented as Vector3s) in 3D space and if it hits another object, returns the point of collision and time of the collision. I'm using kinematic equations with a timestep to detect possible collisions and I can get the point of collision that way, but once I have that I want to find the exact time that that collision would occur at.I thought of rearranging a kinematic equation to solve for time and plug in what I already had, but I can't figure out how I can use all three axes of motion to do this, since my other values are Vec3's and time is just scalar. I've thought about just doing the calculation on one axis, but I'm not sure if that would lead to an accurate result.
Would it be accurate to calculate just based on one axis, or is there a way to incorporate all three into the calculation? The formula I'm using to solve for time is:
t = (v_init +/- Sqrt((v_init)^2 - (accel * disp * 4 * .5)))/accel;
Where v_init is initial velocity, disp is total displacement, and accel is acceleration. I'm basing this off of the kinematic equation:
d = v*t + .5*a*t^2
Let me write in the general case. The component-wise motion law is
x(t) = x0 + v_x t + 0.5 a_x t^2
y(t) = y0 + v_y t + 0.5 a_y t^2
z(t) = z0 + v_z t + 0.5 a_z t^2
where (x0,y0,z0)^t is the initial position, (v_x, v_y, v_z)^t is the initial velocity vector, and (a_x, a_y, a_z)^t is the vector of acceleration. The 3rd component of the latter may include also the gravity acceleration.
I assume that the collision plane is horizontal, having thus equation z = k. Solve in t the equation
z(t) = k
for finding the time t_c in which the projectile hits the plane. Compute then the collision coordinates x(t_c) and y(t_c) using the above formula by substituting t with t_c.
If the plane has the general equation
a x + b y +c z + d = 0
I suggest to put the frame of reference on the plane, having the xy plane on the collision plane, and then apply the above procedure.
You may also solve the non linear system
x = x0 + v_x t + 0.5 a_x t^2
y = y0 + v_y t + 0.5 a_y t^2
z = z0 + v_z t + 0.5 a_z t^2
a x + b y +c z + d = 0
taking the solution for t>0 (I dropped the dependency on t for x, y and z).
To solve it in C++, you may search a math library, such as Eigen which has a module for non linear systems.

Algorithm for determine the Arc Mid Point

I am currently looking to implement an algorithm that will be able to compute the arc midpoint. From here on out, I will be referring to the diagram below. What is known are the start and end nodes (A and B respectively), the center (point C) and point P which is the intersection point of the line AB and CM (I am able to find this point without knowing point M because line AB is perpendicular to line CM and thus, the slope is -1/m). I also know the arc angle and the radius of the arc. I am looking to find point M.
I have been looking at different sources. Some suggest converting coordinates to polar, computing the mid point from the polar coordinates then reverting back to Cartesian. This involves sin and cos (and arctan) which I am a little reluctant to do since trig functions take computing time.
I have been looking to directly computing point M by treating the arc as a circle and having Line CP as a line that intersects the circle at Point M. I would then get two values and the value closest to point P would be the correct intersection point. However, this method, the algebra becomes long and complex. Then I would need to create special cases for when P = C and for when the line AB is horizontal and vertical. This method is ok but I am wondering if there are any better methods out there that can compute this point that are simpler?
Also, as a side note, I will be creating this algorithm in C++.
A circumference in polar form is expressed by
x = Cx + R cos(alpha)
y = Cy + R sin(alpha)
Where alpha is the angle from center C to point x,y. The goal now is how to get alpha without trigonometry.
The arc-midpoint M, the point S in the middle of the segment AB, and your already-calculated point P, all of them have the same alpha, they are on the same line from C.
Let's get vector vx,vy as C to S. Also calculate its length:
vx = Sx - Cx = (Ax + Bx)/2 - Cx
vy = Sy - Cy = (Ay + By)/2 - Cy
leV = sqrt(vx * vx + vy * vy)
I prefer S to P because we can avoid some issues like infinite CP slope or sign to apply to slope (towards M or its inverse).
By defintions of sin and cos we know that:
sin(alpha) = vy / leV
cos(alpha) = vx / leV
and finally we get
Mx = Cx + R * vx / leV
My = Cy + R * vy / leV
Note: To calculate Ryou need another sqrt function, which is not quick, but it's faster than sin or cos.
For better accuracy use the average of Ra= dist(AC) and Rb= dist(BC)
I would then get two values
This is algebraically unavoidable.
and the value closest to point P would be the correct intersection point.
Only if the arc covers less than 180°.
Then I would need to create special cases for when P = C
This is indeed the most tricky case. If A, B, C lie on a line, you don't know which arc is the arc, and won't be able to answer the question. Unless you have some additional information to start with, e.g. know that the arc goes from A to B in a counter-clockwise direction. In this case, you know the orientation of the triangle ABM and can use that to decide which solition to pick, instead of using the distance.
and for when the line AB is horizontal and vertical
Express a line as ax + by + c = 0 and you can treat all slopes the same. THese are homogeneous coordinates of the line, you can compute them e.g. using the cross product (a, b, c) = (Ax, Ay, 1) × (Bx, By, 1). But more detailed questions on how best to compute these lines or intersect it with the circle should probably go to the Math Stack Exchange.
if there are any better methods out there that can compute this point that are simpler?
Projective geometry and homogeneous coordinates can avoid a lot of nasty corner cases, like circles of infinite radius (also known as lines) or the intersection of parallel lines. But the problem of deciding between two solutions remains, so it probably doesn't make things as simple as you'd like them to be.

Determining dz/dx value from Triangle 3D Vertices

I have 3D Vertices of a triangle as (x1,y1,z1) ; (x2,y2,z2) and (x3,y3,z3).
I would like to know the value of dz/dx.
I have been looking into various 3D Geometry forums,but could not find relevant things.I am trying to write the algorithm in C++.
I would be really glad,if someone can help me.
Thanks in Advance.
The general plane equation is:
a*x + b*y + c*z + d = 0
where a, b, c and d are floating numbers. So, at first you need to find these numbers. Note, however, that you can set the d = 0, because all planes with the same a, b, c coefficients and different d are parallel to each other. So, you get a system of linear equations:
a*x1 + b*y1 + c*z1 = 0
a*x2 + b*y2 + c*z2 = 0
a*x3 + b*y3 + c*z3 = 0
After you solve the system you'll have these three coefficients - then you can express z as a function of x and y:
z = - (a*x + b*y) / c
Then it'll be easy to find the dz/dx:
dz/dx = - a / c
There are some special cases, which you'll need to care of in your code - for example, what if all your points are collinear, or you got c = 0. You'll need to be very careful to cover ALL the corner cases.

Iterative non-linear-least-squares opimizing a 3d to 2d projection

please excuse my bad english this isn't my native language.
I try to solve a non-linear-least-squares-problem. I have two sets of points.
A set of 3D-points at time t and a set of 2D-imagepoints at time t+1, knowing the correspondences between them.
Now I have the following equation:
x(t+1) = ( x(t) - y(t)*rotz + z(t)*roty + tx )*f/(-x(t)*roty + y(t)*rotx+z(t)+tz)
y(t+1) = ( x(t)*rotz + y(t) - z(t)*rotx + ty )*f/(-x(t)*roty + y(t)*rotx+z(t)+tz)
The variable f is the focallength. I want to determine rotx, roty, rotz, tx, ty, tz so that the residual between the calculated points image points for t+1 and the known image points for t+1 gets minimal.
I take the euclidean distance between the image-points as error measurment.
E = sqrt( (x(t+1) - X)^2 + (y(t+1) - Y)^2 )
X and Y are the known 2d-image-points.
I calculated a matrix A with a row for every point correspendence and with partial derivatives for rotx, roty and so on in the columns.
I also calculated a column vector y with the results of E for a first estimation of rotx, roty and so on.
Now it is possible for me to calculate updates for the variables with:
delta = inv(A' * A) * A' * y
(A' means the transpose of A)
After updating i use the variables for a few more iterations.
But the algorithm is not converging, even if i set the first estimation with the expected solution. So I think I do something wrong.
Do I use the wrong approach? Can anyone give me a link to a good example or can explain his approach for this problem.
Thank you very much! :-)
I solved my problem. The calculated errors for the y-vector have to be negativ, otherwise the algorithm isnt converging.
y(i) = -E(i)

Points on a circle, with limits. How To calculate without angle, but radius and centre point?

This is quite complicated to explain, so I will do my best, sorry if there is anything I missed out, let me know and I will rectify it.
My question is, I have been tasked to draw this shape,
(source: learnersdictionary.com)
This is to be done using C++ to write code that will calculate the points on this shape.
Important details.
User Input - Centre Point (X, Y), number of points to be shown, Font Size (influences radius)
Output - List of co-ordinates on the shape.
The overall aim once I have the points is to put them into a graph on Excel and it will hopefully draw it for me, at the user inputted size!
I know that the maximum Radius is 165mm and the minimum is 35mm. I have decided that my base Font Size shall be 20. I then did some thinking and came up with the equation.
Radius = (Chosen Font Size/20)*130. This is just an estimation, I realise it probably not right, but I thought it could work at least as a template.
I then decided that I should create two different circles, with two different centre points, then link them together to create the shape. I thought that the INSIDE line will have to have a larger Radius and a centre point further along the X-Axis (Y staying constant), as then it could cut into the outside line.
So I defined 2nd Centre point as (X+4, Y). (Again, just estimation, thought it doesn't really matter how far apart they are).
I then decided Radius 2 = (Chosen Font Size/20)*165 (max radius)
So, I have my 2 Radii, and two centre points.
Now to calculate the points on the circles, I am really struggling. I decided the best way to do it would be to create an increment (here is template)
for(int i=0; i<=n; i++) //where 'n' is users chosen number of points
{
//Equation for X point
//Equation for Y Point
cout<<"("<<X<<","<<Y<<")"<<endl;
}
Now, for the life of me, I cannot figure out an equation to calculate the points. I have found equations that involve angles, but as I do not have any, I'm struggling.
I am, in essence, trying to calculate Point 'P' here, except all the way round the circle.
(source: tutorvista.com)
Another point I am thinking may be a problem is imposing limits on the values calculated to only display the values that are on the shape.? Not sure how to chose limits exactly other than to make the outside line a full Half Circle so I have a maximum radius?
So. Does anyone have any hints/tips/links they can share with me on how to proceed exactly?
Thanks again, any problems with the question, sorry will do my best to rectify if you let me know.
Cheers
UPDATE;
R1 = (Font/20)*130;
R2 = (Font/20)*165;
for(X1=0; X1<=n; X1++)
{
Y1 = ((2*Y)+(pow(((4*((pow((X1-X), 2)))+(pow(R1, 2)))), 0.5)))/2;
Y2 = ((2*Y)-(pow(((4*((pow((X1-X), 2)))+(pow(R1, 2)))), 0.5)))/2;
cout<<"("<<X1<<","<<Y1<<")";
cout<<"("<<X1<<","<<Y2<<")";
}
Opinion?
As per Code-Guru's comments on the question, the inner circle looks more like a half circle than the outer. Use the equation in Code-Guru's answer to calculate the points for the inner circle. Then, have a look at this question for how to calculate the radius of a circle which intersects your circle, given the distance (which you can set arbitrarily) and the points of intersection (which you know, because it's a half circle). From this you can draw the outer arc for any given distance, and all you need to do is vary the distance until you produce a shape that you're happy with.
This question may help you to apply Code-Guru's equation.
The equation of a circle is
(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2
With a little bit of algebra, you can iterate x over the range from h to h+r incrementing by some appropriate delta and calculate the two corresponding values of y. This will draw a complete circle.
The next step is to find the x-coordinate for the intersection of the two circles (assuming that the moon shape is defined by two appropriate circles). Again, some algebra and a pencil and paper will help.
More details:
To draw a circle without using polar coordinates and trig, you can do something like this:
for x in h-r to h+r increment by delta
calculate both y coordinates
To calculate the y-coordinates, you need to solve the equation of a circle for y. The easiest way to do this is to transform it into a quadratic equation of the form A*y^2+B*y+C=0 and use the quadratic equation:
(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2
(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 - r^2 = 0
(y^2 - 2*k*y + k^2) + (x - h)^2 - r^2 = 0
y^2 - 2*k*y + (k^2 + (x - h)^2 - r^2) = 0
So we have
A = 1
B = -2*k
C = k^2 + (x - h)^2 - r^2
Now plug these into the quadratic equation and chug out the two y-values for each x value in the for loop. (Most likely, you will want to do the calculations in a separate function -- or functions.)
As you can see this is pretty messy. Doing this with trigonometry and angles will be much cleaner.
More thoughts:
Even though there are no angles in the user input described in the question, there is no intrinsic reason why you cannot use them during calculations (unless you have a specific requirement otherwise, say because your teacher told you not to). With that said, using polar coordinates makes this much easier. For a complete circle you can do something like this:
for theta = 0 to 2*PI increment by delta
x = r * cos(theta)
y = r * sin(theta)
To draw an arc, rather than a full circle, you simply change the limits for theta in the for loop. For example, the left-half of the circle goes from PI/2 to 3*PI/2.