estimateGeometricTransform

(Not recommended) Estimate geometric transform from matching point pairs

estimateGeometricTransform is not recommended. Use the estgeotform2d or estgeotform3d function instead. For more information, see Compatibility Considerations.

Syntax

tform = estimateGeometricTransform(matchedPoints1,matchedPoints2,transformType)

[tform,inlierpoints1,inlierpoints2] = estimateGeometricTransform(matchedPoints1,matchedPoints2,transformType)

[___,status] = estimateGeometricTransform(matchedPoints1,matchedPoints2,transformType)

[___] = estimateGeometricTransform(matchedPoints1,matchedPoints2,transformType, Name,Value)

Description

tform = estimateGeometricTransform(matchedPoints1,matchedPoints2,transformType) returns a 2-D geometric transform object, tform. The tform object maps the inliers in matchedPoints1 to the inliers in matchedPoints2.

The function excludes outliers using the M-estimator SAmple Consensus (MSAC) algorithm. The MSAC algorithm is a variant of the Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm. Results may not be identical between runs because of the randomized nature of the MSAC algorithm.

[tform,inlierpoints1,inlierpoints2] = estimateGeometricTransform(matchedPoints1,matchedPoints2,transformType) returns the corresponding inlier points in inlierpoints1 and inlierpoints2.

[___,status] = estimateGeometricTransform(matchedPoints1,matchedPoints2,transformType) returns a status code of 0, 1, or 2. If you do not request the status code output, the function returns an error for conditions that cannot produce results.

[___] = estimateGeometricTransform(matchedPoints1,matchedPoints2,transformType, Name,Value) uses additional options specified by one or more name-value arguments.

Examples

Recover Transformed Image Using SURF Feature Points

Read an image and display it.

original = imread('cameraman.tif');
imshow(original)
title('Base Image')

Distort and display the transformed image.

distorted = imresize(original,0.7); 
distorted = imrotate(distorted,31);
figure
imshow(distorted)
title('Transformed Image')

Detect and extract features from the original and the transformed images.

ptsOriginal  = detectSURFFeatures(original);
ptsDistorted = detectSURFFeatures(distorted);
[featuresOriginal,validPtsOriginal] = extractFeatures(original,ptsOriginal);
[featuresDistorted,validPtsDistorted] = extractFeatures(distorted,ptsDistorted);

Match and display features between the images.

index_pairs = matchFeatures(featuresOriginal,featuresDistorted);
matchedPtsOriginal  = validPtsOriginal(index_pairs(:,1));
matchedPtsDistorted = validPtsDistorted(index_pairs(:,2));
figure 
showMatchedFeatures(original,distorted,matchedPtsOriginal,matchedPtsDistorted)
title('Matched SURF Points With Outliers');

Exclude the outliers, estimate the transformation matrix, and display the results.

[tform,inlierIdx] = estimateGeometricTransform2D(matchedPtsDistorted,matchedPtsOriginal,'similarity');
inlierPtsDistorted = matchedPtsDistorted(inlierIdx,:);
inlierPtsOriginal  = matchedPtsOriginal(inlierIdx,:);

figure 
showMatchedFeatures(original,distorted,inlierPtsOriginal,inlierPtsDistorted)
title('Matched Inlier Points')

Use the estimated transformation to recover and display the original image from the distorted image.

outputView = imref2d(size(original));
Ir = imwarp(distorted,tform,'OutputView',outputView);
figure 
imshow(Ir); 
title('Recovered Image');

Input Arguments

matchedPoints1 — Matched points from image 1

cornerPoints object | SIFTPoints | SURFPoints object | MSERRegions object | ORBPoints object | BRISKpoints | KAZEPoints | M-by-2 matrix of [x,y] coordinates

Matched points from image 1, specified as either a KAZEPoints, cornerPoints object, SIFTPoints, SURFPoints object, MSERRegions object, ORBPoints object, BRISKPointsor an M-by-2 matrix of [x,y] coordinates. The function excludes outliers using the M-estimator SAmple Consensus (MSAC) algorithm. The MSAC algorithm is a variant of the Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm.

matchedPoints2 — Matched points from image 2

cornerPoints object | SIFTPoints | SURFPoints object | MSERRegions object | ORBPoints object | BRISKpoints | KAZEPoints | M-by-2 matrix of [x,y] coordinates

Matched points from image 2, specified as either a KAZEPoints, cornerPoints object, SIFTPoints, SURFPoints object, MSERRegions object, ORBPoints object, BRISKPointsor an M-by-2 matrix of [x,y] coordinates. The function excludes outliers using the M-estimator SAmple Consensus (MSAC) algorithm. The MSAC algorithm is a variant of the Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm.

transformType — Transform type

"similarity" | "affine" | "projective"

Transform type, specified as "similarity", "affine", or "projective". The greater the number of matched pairs of points, the greater the accuracy of the estimated transformation. The minimum number of matched pairs of points for each transform type:

Transform Type	Minimum Number of Matched Pairs of Points
"similarity"	2
"affine"	3
"projective"	4

Data Types: string | char

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Before R2021a, use commas to separate each name and value, and enclose Name in quotes.

Example: "Confidence",99 sets the confidence value to 99.

MaxNumTrials — Maximum random trials

1000 (default) | positive integer

Maximum number of random trials for finding the inliers, specified as a positive integer scalar. Increasing this value improves the robustness of the results at the expense of additional computations.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

Confidence — Confidence of finding maximum number of inliers

99 (default) | positive numeric scalar

Confidence of finding the maximum number of inliers, specified as a percentage numeric scalar in the range (0 100). Increasing this value improves the robustness of the results at the expense of additional computations.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

MaxDistance — Maximum distance from point to projection

1.5 (default) | positive numeric scalar

Maximum distance in pixels, from a point to the projection of its corresponding point, specified as a positive numeric scalar. The corresponding projection is based on the estimated transform.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

Output Arguments

tform — Geometric transformation

affine2d object | projective2d object

Geometric transformation, returned as either an affine2d object or a projective2d object.

The returned geometric transformation matrix maps the inliers in matchedPoints1 to the inliers in matchedPoints2. When you set the transformType input to either "similarity" or "affine", the function returns an affine2d object. Otherwise, it returns a projective2d object.

inlierpoints1 — Inlier points in image 1

inlier points

Inlier points in image 1, returned as the same type as the input matching points.

inlierpoints2 — Inlier points in image 2

inlier points

Inlier points in image 2, returned as the same type as the input matching points.

status — Status code

0 | 1 | 2

Status code, returned as the value 0, 1, or 2.

status	Description
0	No error.
1	matchedPoints1 and matchedPoints2 inputs do not contain enough points.
2	Not enough inliers found.

If you do not request the status code output, the function will throw an error for the two conditions that cannot produce results.

Data Types: double

References

[1] Hartley, Richard, and Andrew Zisserman. Multiple View Geometry in Computer Vision. 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

[2] Torr, P.H.S., and A. Zisserman. "MLESAC: A New Robust Estimator with Application to Estimating Image Geometry." Computer Vision and Image Understanding. 78, no. 1 (April 2000): 138–56. https://doi.org/10.1006/cviu.1999.0832.

Extended Capabilities

C/C++ Code Generation

Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.

Usage notes and limitations:

• You cannot use SURFPoints object as an input to estimateGeometricTransform. See the Introduction to Code Generation with Feature Matching and Registration example for details on how to use SURFPoints with estimateGeometricTransform in codegen.

Version History

Introduced in R2013a

R2022b: Not recommended

Starting in R2022b, many Computer Vision Toolbox™ functions create and perform geometric transformations using the premultiply convention. However, the estimateGeometricTransform function estimates geometric transformations using the postmultiply convention. Although there are no plans to remove estimateGeometricTransform at this time, you can streamline your geometric transformation workflows by switching to the estgeotform2d and estgeotform3d functions, which support the premultiply convention. For more information, see Migrate Geometric Transformations to Premultiply Convention.