How to count annotation dots from am image?

I'm trying to localize people from an image with annotations. I need to count number of annotations in amoving window. How can I do that? A sample image is attached

Answer 1

[Image Analyst]

Don't use JPG for image analysis. Because you did, that's one reason why Niko's code didn't work. The other reason being that he didn't get the count in a moving window like you requested. Here is a solution:

clc; % Clear the command window.

close all;  % Close all figures (except those of imtool.)
clear;  % Erase all existing variables. Or clearvars if you want.
workspace;  % Make sure the workspace panel is showing.
format long g;
format compact;
fontSize = 15;

%===============================================================================
% Get the name of the image the user wants to use.
baseFileName = '8.jpg';
% Get the full filename, with path prepended.
folder = pwd
fullFileName = fullfile(folder, baseFileName);

% Check if file exists.
if ~exist(fullFileName, 'file')
  % The file doesn't exist -- didn't find it there in that folder.
  % Check the entire search path (other folders) for the file by stripping off the folder.
  fullFileNameOnSearchPath = baseFileName; % No path this time.
  if ~exist(fullFileNameOnSearchPath, 'file')
    % Still didn't find it.  Alert user.
    errorMessage = sprintf('Error: %s does not exist in the search path folders.', fullFileName);
    uiwait(warndlg(errorMessage));
    return;
  end
end

%===============================================================================
% Read in demo image.
rgbImage = imread(fullFileName);
% Get the dimensions of the image.
[imageRows, imageColumns, numberOfColorChannels] = size(rgbImage);
% Display the original image.
subplot(2, 2, 1);
imshow(rgbImage, []);
axis on;
caption = sprintf('Original Color Image, %s', baseFileName);
title(caption, 'FontSize', fontSize, 'Interpreter', 'None');
hp = impixelinfo();

% Set up figure properties:
% Enlarge figure to full screen.
set(gcf, 'Units', 'Normalized', 'OuterPosition', [0 0 1 1]);
% Get rid of tool bar and pulldown menus that are along top of figure.
set(gcf, 'Toolbar', 'none', 'Menu', 'none');
% Give a name to the title bar.
set(gcf, 'Name', 'Demo by ImageAnalyst', 'NumberTitle', 'Off')

drawnow;
hp = impixelinfo(); % Set up status line to see values when you mouse over the image.

% Extract the individual red, green, and blue color channels.
redChannel = rgbImage(:, :, 1);
greenChannel = rgbImage(:, :, 2);
blueChannel = rgbImage(:, :, 3);

% Threshold to get the blue mask.
blueMask = redChannel < 100 & greenChannel < 100 & blueChannel > 100;
% Display the image.
subplot(2, 2, 2);
imshow(blueMask);
grid on;
axis on;
title('Initial Blue Mask Image', 'FontSize', fontSize);

% Fill blobs.
blueMask = imfill(blueMask, 'holes');
% Reduce to single points.
blueMask = bwulterode(blueMask);
% Display the image.
subplot(2, 2, 3);
imshow(blueMask);
grid on;
axis on;
title('Final Blue Mask Image', 'FontSize', fontSize);

% Count points in a moving window of size 8 rows by 16 columns.
windowColumns = 16; % Adapt as needed.
windowRows = 8; % Adapt as needed.
% Do the counting
countImage = conv2(double(blueMask), ones(windowRows, windowColumns));
% Display the image.
subplot(2, 2, 4);
imshow(countImage);
axis on;
caption = sprintf('Count Image: count in a %d by %d moving box', windowRows, windowColumns);
title(caption, 'FontSize', fontSize, 'Interpreter', 'None');
drawnow;

Needless to say, simply adapt the code to use the number of rows and columns that you want in your moving window (box).

[Image Analyst]

See these links on crowd estimation:

http://www.visionbib.com/bibliography/motion-f745c1.html

http://www.visionbib.com/bibliography/motion-f735m1.html

Answer 2

[Niko]

Say the color of the dot is [0, 0, 255]. First convert the image to a logical matrix:

BW = im(:, :, 1) == 0 & im(:, :, 2) == 0 & im(:, :, 3) == 255;

Now BW is 1 where it's blue in the original image and 0 otherwise. Then

[~, num] = bwlabel(BW)

gives you what you need. (You'll need the image processing toolbox for bwlabel.)