Image analysis is one of the most challenging areas in today's computer
sci- ence, and image technologies are used in a host of applications.
This book concentrates on image textures and presents novel techniques
for their sim- ulation, retrieval, and segmentation using specific Gibbs
random fields with multiple pairwise interaction between signals as
probabilistic image models. These models and techniques were developed
mainly during the previous five years (in relation to April 1999 when
these words were written). While scanning these pages you may notice
that, in spite of long equa- tions, the mathematical background is
extremely simple. I have tried to avoid complex abstract constructions
and give explicit physical (to be spe- cific, "image-based")
explanations to all the mathematical notions involved. Therefore it is
hoped that the book can be easily read both by professionals and
graduate students in computer science and electrical engineering who
take an interest in image analysis and synthesis. Perhaps,
mathematicians studying applications of random fields may find here some
less traditional, and thus controversial, views and techniques.