A note on minimal length polygonal approximation to a digitized contour

A method for extracting a smooth polygonal contour from a digitized image is illustrated. The ordered sequence of contour points and the connection graph of the image are first obtained by a modified Ledley algorithm in one image scan. A minimal perimeter polygon subjected to specified constraints is then chosen as the approximating contour. The determination of the minimal polygon can be reduced to a nonlinear programming problem, solved by an algorithm which takes into account the weak bonds between variables. Some examples are presented, and the corresponding computing times are listed.