how to calculate same type of datas in an image?

sir,i have an image of a class room where many students are sitting.i have a top view of the class so what i see is only the heads of the students.now what i need is to calculate the number of students in the class.can any one tell me how to find this?please suggest me some books or websites where i can able to get any help.thanks

[Walter Roberson]

Color? Grayscale? Is there a need to worry that someone's hair might happen to be nearly the same color as the seats? Are the seats placed regularly?

Would it be possible for you to post a sample image? http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/7924-where-can-i-upload-images-and-files-for-use-on-matlab-answers

Answer 1

[Image Analyst]

Your search for an algorithm should begin with a search for "crowd estimation" in Vision Bibliography: https://www.google.com/search?hl=En&as_sitesearch=www.visionbib.com%2F&bthG=Google%2BSearch&q=crowd+estimation. Many papers are listed there that estimate the number of people in a crowd by counting head. Pick one and code it up.

P.S. See the FAQ : http://matlab.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Can_you_program_up_the_algorithm_in_this_article_for_me_and_explain_it_to_me.3F