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This article provides an introduction to OpenCV Library in Python and demonstrates some examples of using this library.
In fact, OpenCV (Open Source Computer Vision) is a cross-platform library. Also, it works on both images and videos. In the case of the Python programming language, the OpenCV library is available with the cv2 package. The cv2 package contains methods to read and display images among other image processing methods. In order to use computer vision functions, we need to import the cv2 package.
Although OpenCV has many applications in image processing, computer vision, and machine learning, the most prominent application of the OpenCV library is CCTV footage analysis for surveillance.
The following list shows some Examples of OpenCV Library in Python
The following code shows a simple program to read and display an image.
import cv2
myimage=cv2.imread('tree.jpg', cv2.IMREAD_COLOR)
cv2.imshow('Tree Image', myimage)
cv2.waitKey(0)
cv2.destroyAllWindows()
Output
imread(imagepath, flags)
As shown above, there are four methods of cv2 package used in the code. In order to read an image, we use the imread() method. This method has the following parameters.
- The first parameter imagepath indicates the path of the image file from which the image is to be loaded.
- While the second parameter flags represent the read modes. For instance, IMREAD_COLOR reads a colored image. Whereas a value of 0 for flags load a grey image as shown below.
myimage=cv2.imread('tree.jpg', 0)
imshow(image_title, image)
In order to show the image, we use imshow() method. This method takes the following parameters.
- Basically, image_title represents the title of the image window.
- The second parameter image represents the image instance that will be shown.
waitKey(time_interval)
Once, we display an image, we need a method to close it. Basically, the waitKey() method allows the image to appear for the specified time. Whenever we use a value of 0, the image will appear for an infinite time until we press a key. Otherwise, it will display the image for a specified number of milliseconds. For instance, the following code will display the image for seven seconds.
cv2.waitKey(7000)destroyAllWindows()
In order to close all windows which were open using OpenCV, we use this method.
Other Useful Methods of OpenCV Library in Python
Although OpenCV library contains a large number of methods, some important ones are given below.
rectangle(imagename, start, end, color, width)
Generally, we use the rectangle() function to draw a rectangle over the image. However, we can also use to mask a specific part of the image. The following code shows both of these examples.
import cv2
myimage=cv2.imread('tree.jpg')
cv2.rectangle(myimage, (10, 10), (320, 350), (255,255,0),10)
cv2.imshow('Rectange Over Tree Image', myimage)
cv2.rectangle(myimage, (100, 100), (190, 200), (34,54,160),-1)
cv2.imshow('Masking the Image', myimage)
cv2.waitKey(0)
cv2.destroyAllWindows()
Output
The rectangle() function takes five parameters. In the first place, we specify the image instance. After that, the start, and end coordinates of the rectangle should be given. Further, we specify the color in Blue-Green-Red (BGR) format. Finally, we specify the thickness of the rectangle. In case a value of -1 is given for thickness, a filled rectangle will be created. Therefore, we can mask a part of the image.
circle(imagename, center, radius, color, width)
Likewise, we can use the circle() function to draw a circle over the image. Firstly, we specify the name of image instance. After that, the next two parameters are the x and y coordinates of the center of circle and its radius respectively. The fourth parameter is the color in BGR format. Finally, the thickness of the circle should be given or -1 for a filled circle. The following code demonstrates the circle() function.
import cv2
myimage=cv2.imread('tree.jpg')
cv2.circle(myimage, (170, 170), 160, (6, 73, 218), 4)
cv2.imshow('Circle Over Tree Image', myimage)
cv2.circle(myimage, (140, 140), 36, (6, 233, 100), -1)
cv2.imshow('Masking the Image', myimage)
cv2.waitKey(0)
cv2.destroyAllWindows()
Output
line(imagename, start, end, color, thickness)
As an illustration, we draw a line over an image by using the line() function. The following code shows an example of drawing two lines over an image. As can be seen, we need to pass the name of the image instance, start, and end coordinates, color in BGR format, and the thickness of the line as parameters.
import cv2
myimage=cv2.imread('tree.jpg')
cv2.line(myimage, (0, 0), (340, 375), (180, 36, 218), 6)
cv2.line(myimage, (330, 0), (0, 368), (180, 36, 218), 6)
cv2.imshow('Line Over Tree Image', myimage)
cv2.waitKey(0)
cv2.destroyAllWindows()
Output
Further Reading
How to Implement Inheritance in Python
Find Prime Numbers in Given Range in Python
Running Instructions in an Interactive Interpreter in Python
Deep Learning Practice Exercise
Deep Learning Methods for Object Detection
Image Contrast Enhancement using Histogram Equalization
Transfer Learning and its Applications
Examples of OpenCV Library in Python
Understanding Blockchain Concepts
Example of Multi-layer Perceptron Classifier in Python
Measuring Performance of Classification using Confusion Matrix
Artificial Neural Network (ANN) Model using Scikit-Learn
Popular Machine Learning Algorithms for Prediction
Long Short Term Memory – An Artificial Recurrent Neural Network Architecture
Python Project Ideas for Undergraduate Students
Creating Basic Charts using Plotly
Visualizing Regression Models with lmplot() and residplot() in Seaborn
Data Visualization with Pandas
A Brief Introduction of Pandas Library in Python
A Brief Tutorial on NumPy in Python
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