A certain factory mass produces small American flags for sporting events. The quality assu...

A certain factory mass produces small American flags for sporting events. The quality assurance team has observed that, during periods of peak production, some printing machines have a tendency to drop (randomly) between one and three stars and one or two entire stripes. Aside from these errors, the flags are perfect in every other way. Although the flags containing errors represent a small percentage of total production, the plant manager decides to solve the problem. After much investigation, he concludes that automatic inspection using image processing techniques is the most economical way to handle the problem. The basic specifications are as follows: The flags are approximately 7.5 cm by 12.5 cm in size. They move lengthwise down the production line (individually, but with a ±15° variation in orientation) at approximately 50 cm/s, with a separation between flags of approximately 5 cm. In all cases, “approximately” means ±5%. The plant manager hires you to design an image processing system for each production line. You are told that cost and simplicity are important parameters in determining the viability of your approach. Design a complete system based on the model of Fig. 1.23. Document your solution (including assumptions and specifications) in a brief (but clear) written report addressed to the plant manager.

FIGURE 1.23 Fundamental steps in digital image processing. The chapter(s) indicated in the boxes is where the material described in the box is discussed.