Marker-based image segmentation relying on disjoint set union

Marker-based image segmentation has been widely used in image analysis and understanding. The well-known Meyer's marker-based watershed algorithm by immersion is realized using the hierarchical circular queues. A new marker-based segmentation algorithm relying on disjoint set union is proposed in this paper. It consists of three steps, namely: pixel sorting, set union, and pixel resolving. The memory requirement for the proposed algorithm is fixed as 2×N integers (N is the image size), whereas the memory requirement for Meyer's algorithm is image dependent. The advantage of the proposed algorithm lies at its regularity and simplicity in software/firmware/hardware implementation.