A Parametric Active Polygon for Leaf Segmentation and Shape Estimation

In this paper we present a system for tree leaf segmentation in natural images that combines a first, unrefined segmentation step, with an estimation of descriptors depicting the general shape of a simple leaf. It is based on a light polygonal model, built to represent most of the leaf shapes, that will be deformed to fit the leaf in the image. Avoiding some classic obstacles of active contour models, this approach gives promising results, even on complex natural photographs, and constitutes a solid basis for a leaf recognition process.