Microscopy Primer
Light and Color
Microscope Basics
Special Techniques
Digital Imaging
Confocal Microscopy
Live-Cell Imaging
Photomicrography
Microscopy Museum
Virtual Microscopy
Fluorescence
Web Resources
License Info
Image Use
Custom Photos
Partners
Site Info
Contact Us
Publications
Home

The Galleries:

Photo Gallery
Silicon Zoo
Pharmaceuticals
Chip Shots
Phytochemicals
DNA Gallery
Microscapes
Vitamins
Amino Acids
Birthstones
Religion Collection
Pesticides
BeerShots
Cocktail Collection
Screen Savers
Win Wallpaper
Mac Wallpaper
Movie Gallery

Interpolation Techniques

When an image is resized or rotated, the new pixel locations will not in general align exactly with the original ones, so that interpolation is needed to determine the values for the new pixels. The simplest method is select the nearest pixel to the new location. This preserves pixel values but produces visual artifacts such as stair-stepping along edges. Interpolation using the four nearest neighbors (bilinear) or a larger neighborhood of 16 pixels (bicubic) produce visually more pleasing results, but can blur fine lines and detail. This interactive tutorial illustrates the process of enlarging and rotating an image using different interpolation methods.

The tutorial initializes with a randomly selected specimen imaged in the microscope appearing in the Specimen Image window. The Choose A Specimen pull-down menu provides a selection of specimen images, in addition to the initial randomly chosen one. The Nearest Neighbor, Bilinear Interpolation, and Bicubic Interpolation buttons select the method used to generate the result image shown on the right. The Zoom Factor slider adjusts the degree of enlargement of the image, while the Angle of Rotation slider adjusts the rotation angle of the result. This slider may either be controlled directly, or the arrow buttons at either end used to change the setting.

Contributing Authors

John C. Russ - Materials Science and Engineering Dept., North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695.

Matthew Parry-Hill, and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.


BACK TO INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS

BACK TO MICROSCOPY PRIMER HOME

Questions or comments? Send us an email.
© 1998-2009 by Michael W. Davidson, John Russ, Olympus America Inc., and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.
This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Last modification: Tuesday, Sep 11, 2018 at 01:42 PM
Access Count Since July 20, 2006: 6314
For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: