Fast color texture recognition using chromaticity moments

A number of different approaches have been presented recently addressing the issue of color texture analysis. Most of these methods are based on elaborate mathematical modeling, including auto/cross-correlation, random fields, and Gabor multi-channel filtering. Furthermore, the computational requirements of these approaches are usually high. A simple yet effective method for color texture classification is presented here. The method uses the CIE xy chromaticity diagram of an image and a corresponding set of two-dimensional and three-dimensional moments to characterize a given color texture. Chromaticity is, thus, described by its two-dimensional shape, i.e., the chromaticity diagram, along with the associated two-dimensional distribution of chromaticity values. Using only a small number of moments the method achieves hit rates of over 90%. The method has been applied to the recognition of granite and marble images. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.