Automatic Identification of Fiducial Marks Based on Weak Constraints

This paper proposes an autonomous approach to localize the center of fiducial marks included in aerial photographs without precise geometric information and human interactions. For this localization, we present a conceptual model based on two assumptions representing symmetric characteristics of fiducial area and fiducial mark. The model makes it possible to locate exact center of a fiducial mark by checking the symmetric characteristics of pixel value distribution around the mark. The proposed approach is composed of three steps: (a) determining the symmetric center of fiducial area, (b) finding the center of a fiducial mark with unit pixel accuracy, and finally (c) localizing the exact center up to sub-pixel accuracy. The symmetric center of the mark is calculated tv successively applying three geometric filters: simplified ${\nabla}^2$G (Laplacian of Gaussian) filter, symmetry enhancement filter, and high pass filter. By introducing a self-diagnosis function based on the self-similarity measurement, a way of rejecting unreliable cases of center calculation is proposed, as well. The experiments were done with respect to 284 samples of fiducial marks composed of RMK- and RC-style ones extracted from 51 scanned aerial photographs. It was evaluated in the visual inspection that the proposed approach had resulted the erroneous identification with respect to only one mark. Although the proposed approach is based on weak constraints, being free from the exact geometric model of the fiducial marks, experimental results showed that the proposed approach is sufficiently robust and reliable.