ECE 468: Digital Image Processing

Course Description
Visual information plays an important role in many aspects of our life. Much of this information is represented by digital images. Digital image processing is ubiquitous, with applications including television, tomography, photography, printing, robot perception, and remote sensing. ECE468 is an introductory course to the fundamentals of digital image processing. It emphasizes general principles of image processing, rather than specific applications. We expect to cover the following topics: image acquisition and display, color representations, image sampling and quantization, point operations, linear image filtering and correlation, image transforms and sub-band decompositions, contrast and color enhancement, image restoration, and image compression.

Textbook
"Digital Image Processing," by R. C. Gonzalez and R. E. Woods, 4th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2018

Additional readings, including lecture notes, slides and selected papers from the literature will be posted periodically on the class website.

Prerequisites
For undergraduate students: Signals and systems ECE 351 and ECE 352. For graduate students: None. Students will be expected to be familiar with basic statistics, probability, calculus, and linear algebra.

Course Objectives
The objectives of this course are to:
- Cover the basic theory and algorithms that are widely used in digital image processing
- Expose students to current technologies and issues that are specific to image processing systems
- Develop hands-on experience in using computers to process images
- Familiarize with MATLAB Image Processing Toolbox
- Develop critical thinking about shortcomings of the state of the art in image processing

Homework
We will have weekly homework assignments. They will involve either problem solving or mini-project programming assignments. The mini projects must be implemented using Matlab and its Image Processing Toolbox. Graduate students will be given a larger amount of homework assignments than undergraduate students. Homework handed in late will not be accepted without prior approval. While homework assignments may be discussed outside the classroom, they all must be performed independently by each student. Violation of this rule will be considered a form of cheating.

Grading
(20%) Homework
(35%) Midterm exam
(45%) Final exam

Class participation based on the readings and lectures will be expected of all the students.

Make-up Policy
- Make-up exams will not be given except for medical or family emergency reasons.
- Late homework will not be accepted without prior approval.
- If you miss a class, you are still responsible for learning the material covered during that class, and for getting homework turned in on time.

Academic Honesty
Each student is expected to practice honorable behavior inside and outside the classroom. Details about academic dishonesty and subsequent disciplinary actions can be found at the official website of Student Conduct & Community Standards at the Oregon State University.

Examples of cheating include (but are not limited to):
- Bringing forbidden material or devices to an examination
- Working on an exam before or after the official time allowed
- Requesting a re-grade of answers or work that has been altered after the initial grading
- Submitting a homework that is not your own work

At the professor's discretion, cheating on an assignment, or examination will result in a failing grade for the entire course, or a reduced grade, or a zero score for the particular assignment, or exam. All occurrences of academic dishonesty will be reported to the department head. If there is any question as to whether a certain action might be construed as cheating, please contact the professor before you engage in any such action.