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bwselect

Select objects in binary image

Description

BW2 = bwselect(BW,c,r) returns a binary image containing the objects that overlap the pixel (r, c). Objects are connected sets of on pixels, that is, pixels having a value of 1.

BW2 = bwselect(BW,c,r,n) also specifies the object connectivity, n, as 4-connected or 8-connected.

example

[BW2,idx] = bwselect(___) returns the linear indices of the pixels belonging to the selected objects.

[x,y,BW2,idx,xi,yi] = bwselect(___) returns the x and y extents of the image and the (xi, yi) coordinates of the pixels. By default, bwselect uses the intrinsic coordinate system so that x and y are the image XData and YData.

[___] = bwselect(x,y,BW,xi,yi,n) establishes a nondefault world coordinate system for BW from the vectors x and y. The arguments xi and yi specify pixel coordinates in the world coordinate system.

[___] = bwselect(BW,n) displays the image BW in a figure and lets you select the (r, c) coordinates interactively using the mouse. With this syntax and the other interactive syntax, bwselect blocks the MATLAB® command line until you finish selecting points.

For more information about selecting points interactively, see Interactive Behavior.

[___] = bwselect without an input argument lets you select the (r, c) coordinates of the image in the current axes interactively.

Examples

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Select objects in a binary image and create a new image containing only those objects.

Read binary image into the workspace.

BW = imread('text.png');

Specify the locations of objects in the image using row and column indices.

c = [43 185 212];
r = [38 68 181];

Create a new binary image containing only the selected objects. This example specifies 4-connected objects.

BW2 = bwselect(BW,c,r,4);

Display the original image and the new image side-by-side.

imshowpair(BW,BW2,'montage');

Figure contains an axes object. The hidden axes object contains an object of type image.

Input Arguments

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Binary image, specified as a 2-D numeric matrix or 2-D logical matrix.

Example: BW = imread('text.png');

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | logical

Column index, specified as a numeric scalar or numeric vector. If r and c are equal-length vectors, then BW2 contains the sets of objects overlapping with any of the pixels (r(k),c(k)).

Example: c = [43 185 212];

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

Row index, specified as a numeric scalar or numeric vector. If r and c are equal-length vectors, then BW2 contains the sets of objects overlapping with any of the pixels (r(k),c(k)).

Example: r = [38 68 181];

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

Connectivity, specified as 4 or 8.

ValueDescription
44-connected objects
88-connected objects

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

World x-axis coordinates, specified as a numeric scalar or numeric vector of the same length as y. Use x and y to establish a nondefault spatial coordinate system. By default, if you do not specify x and y, then bwselect uses the intrinsic coordinate system in which x is [1, size(BW,2)].

Example: x = [19.5 23.5];

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

World y-axis coordinates, specified as a numeric scalar or numeric vector of the same length as x. Use x and y to establish a nondefault spatial coordinate system. By default, if you do not specify x and y, then bwselect uses the intrinsic coordinate system in which y is [1, size(BW,1)].

Example: y = [8.0 12.0];

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

x-coordinates of points in the world coordinate system, specified as a numeric scalar or numeric vector.

Example: x = [19.5 23.5];

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

y-coordinates of points in the world coordinate system, specified as a numeric scalar or numeric vector.

Example: y = [8.0 12.0];

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

Output Arguments

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Binary image containing objects that overlap the specified pixels, returned as a logical array. BW2 contains the set of objects overlapping with any of the pixels specified by r and c or xi and yi.

If you do not specify an output argument, then bwselect displays the output image in a new figure.

Linear indices of the pixels belonging to the selected objects, returned as a numeric vector.

More About

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Interactive Behavior

When you run bwselect without specifying pixel coordinates, bwselect enables you to select points interactively from an image in a figure window. Select points using these commands.

Interactive BehaviorDescription
Add points

Left-click points in the image.

Remove previous point

Press Backspace or Delete.

Add final point and complete selection

Right-click, double-click, or press Shift and left-click simultaneously.

Complete selection without adding final point

Press Return.

Extended Capabilities

Version History

Introduced before R2006a