Matrix-Valued LogSumExp Approximation for Colour Morphology

Abstract Mathematical morphology is a part of image processing that employs a moving window to modify pixel values through the application of specific operations. The supremum and infimum are pivotal concepts, yet defining them in a general sense for high-dimensional data such as colour is a challenging endeavour. As a result, a number of different approaches have been taken to try to find a solution, with certain compromises being made along the way. In this paper, we present an analysis of a novel approach that replaces the supremum within a morphological operation with the LogExp approximation of the maximum for matrix-valued colours. This approach has the advantage of extending the associativity of dilation from the one-dimensional to the higher-dimensional case. Furthermore, the minimality property is investigated and a relaxation specified to ensure that the approach is continuously dependent on the input data.