Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utastro.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!fritz
From: fritz@utastro.UUCP (Fritz Benedict)
Newsgroups: net.graphics,net.ai
Subject: Re: Computer Vision, Pattern Recognition --> Generalized Image Files
Message-ID: <374@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Jul-85 10:10:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.374
Posted: Thu Jul 18 10:10:36 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Jul-85 12:19:00 EDT
References: <10571@rochester.UUCP> <833@turtlevax.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 40
Xref: watmath net.graphics:943 net.ai:2893

> In article <10571@rochester.UUCP> sher@rochester.UUCP writes:
> >
> >Generalized Image Storage Format?
> >
> >In Ballard & Brown, Computer Vision,  a generalized image is defined
> >as an iconic like array containing information relevant to an image
> >(paraphrase not quote).  Examples of generalized images are Fourier
> >transformed images, edge images, stereo pairs, circle location points,
> >image histograms...  If there were generally accepted formats for
> >generalized images then I could use edge recognition programs written
> >at CMU and image interpretation routines written at U. Mass to test my
> >texture recognition routines written here at U. Rochester.  As far as
> >I can tell every university stores images differently.  As far as
> >other generalized images then every program stores them differently.
> >This I believe acts as a gigantic brake on vision research.  
>
Take a look at two papers discribing "Flexible Image Transport System" =
FITS. We astronomers have been swapping images around on tape using this
protocal for 4-5 years. We can now even pass tabular data around.
At least 20 astronomical research sites can communicate image and tabular
data with relative ease.

References:

   "FITS: A Flexible Image Transport System", Astronomy and Astrophysics
    Suppl. Series, vol 44, pgs 363-370, 1981.

   "An Extension of FITS for Groups of Small Arrays of Data", ibid, pgs
    371-374, 1981.

Alas, the table extension description has not yet been published.

Unix compatible code to read and write  FITS tapes exists.

FITS works on up to 9 dimensional data, too (useful in radio astronomy).
-- 
Fritz Benedict  (512)471-4461x448
uucp: {...noao,decvax,ut-sally}!utastro!fritz
arpa: fritz@ut-ngp
snail: Astronomy, U of Texas, Austin, TX  78712