The goal of edge detection is to mark the points in a
digital image at which the
luminous intensity changes sharply. Sharp changes in image properties usually reflect important events and changes in properties of the world. These include (i) discontinuities in depth, (ii) discontinuities in surface orientation, (iii) changes in material properties and (iv) variations in scene illumination. Edge detection is a research field within
image processing and
computer vision, in particular within the area of
feature extraction.
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