Making your own linear filters! {#tutorial_filter_2d}
===============================

@tableofcontents

@prev_tutorial{tutorial_threshold_inRange}
@next_tutorial{tutorial_copyMakeBorder}

|    |    |
| -: | :- |
| Original author | Ana Huamán |
| Compatibility | OpenCV >= 3.0 |

Goal
----

In this tutorial you will learn how to:

-   Use the OpenCV function **filter2D()** to create your own linear filters.

Theory
------

@note The explanation below belongs to the book **Learning OpenCV** by Bradski and Kaehler.

### Correlation

In a very general sense, correlation is an operation between every part of an image and an operator
(kernel).

### What is a kernel?

A kernel is essentially a fixed size array of numerical coefficients along with an *anchor point* in
that array, which is typically located at the center.

![](images/filter_2d_tutorial_kernel_theory.png)

### How does correlation with a kernel work?

Assume you want to know the resulting value of a particular location in the image. The value of the
correlation is calculated in the following way:

-#  Place the kernel anchor on top of a determined pixel, with the rest of the kernel overlaying the
    corresponding local pixels in the image.
-#  Multiply the kernel coefficients by the corresponding image pixel values and sum the result.
-#  Place the result to the location of the *anchor* in the input image.
-#  Repeat the process for all pixels by scanning the kernel over the entire image.

Expressing the procedure above in the form of an equation we would have:

\f[H(x,y) = \sum_{i=0}^{M_{i} - 1} \sum_{j=0}^{M_{j}-1} I(x+i - a_{i}, y + j - a_{j})K(i,j)\f]

Fortunately, OpenCV provides you with the function **filter2D()** so you do not have to code all
these operations.

###  What does this program do?
-   Loads an image
-   Performs a *normalized box filter*. For instance, for a kernel of size \f$size = 3\f$, the
    kernel would be:

\f[K = \dfrac{1}{3 \cdot 3} \begin{bmatrix}
1 & 1 & 1  \\
        1 & 1 & 1  \\
        1 & 1 & 1
\end{bmatrix}\f]

The program will perform the filter operation with kernels of sizes 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11.

-   The filter output (with each kernel) will be shown during 500 milliseconds

Code
----

The tutorial code's is shown in the lines below.

@add_toggle_cpp
You can also download it from
[here](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/opencv/opencv/4.x/samples/cpp/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/filter2D_demo.cpp)
@include cpp/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/filter2D_demo.cpp
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_java
You can also download it from
[here](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/opencv/opencv/4.x/samples/java/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/Filter2D_Demo.java)
@include java/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/Filter2D_Demo.java
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_python
You can also download it from
[here](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/opencv/opencv/4.x/samples/python/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/filter2D.py)
@include python/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/filter2D.py
@end_toggle

Explanation
-----------

####  Load an image

@add_toggle_cpp
@snippet cpp/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/filter2D_demo.cpp load
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_java
@snippet java/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/Filter2D_Demo.java load
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_python
@snippet python/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/filter2D.py load
@end_toggle

####  Initialize the arguments

@add_toggle_cpp
@snippet cpp/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/filter2D_demo.cpp init_arguments
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_java
@snippet java/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/Filter2D_Demo.java init_arguments
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_python
@snippet python/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/filter2D.py init_arguments
@end_toggle

##### Loop

Perform an infinite loop updating the kernel size and applying our linear filter to the input
image. Let's analyze that more in detail:

-  First we define the kernel our filter is going to use. Here it is:

@add_toggle_cpp
@snippet cpp/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/filter2D_demo.cpp update_kernel
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_java
@snippet java/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/Filter2D_Demo.java update_kernel
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_python
@snippet python/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/filter2D.py update_kernel
@end_toggle

The first line is to update the *kernel_size* to odd values in the range: \f$[3,11]\f$.
The second line actually builds the kernel by setting its value to a matrix filled with
\f$1's\f$ and normalizing it by dividing it between the number of elements.

-  After setting the kernel, we can generate the filter by using the function **filter2D()** :

@add_toggle_cpp
@snippet cpp/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/filter2D_demo.cpp apply_filter
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_java
@snippet java/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/Filter2D_Demo.java apply_filter
@end_toggle

@add_toggle_python
@snippet python/tutorial_code/ImgTrans/Filter2D/filter2D.py apply_filter
@end_toggle

-  The arguments denote:
       -  *src*: Source image
       -  *dst*: Destination image
       -  *ddepth*: The depth of *dst*. A negative value (such as \f$-1\f$) indicates that the depth is
        the same as the source.
       -  *kernel*: The kernel to be scanned through the image
       -  *anchor*: The position of the anchor relative to its kernel. The location *Point(-1, -1)*
       indicates the center by default.
       -  *delta*: A value to be added to each pixel during the correlation. By default it is \f$0\f$
       -  *BORDER_DEFAULT*: We let this value by default (more details in the following tutorial)

-  Our program will effectuate a *while* loop, each 500 ms the kernel size of our filter will be
    updated in the range indicated.

Results
-------

-#  After compiling the code above, you can execute it giving as argument the path of an image. The
    result should be a window that shows an image blurred by a normalized filter. Each 0.5 seconds
    the kernel size should change, as can be seen in the series of snapshots below:

![](images/filter_2d_tutorial_result.jpg)
