Volumetric Feature Extraction of 3D Images Defined over Hexagonal Prism Lattice Mohd. Sherfuddin Khan M. Shankar Lingam Vijay H. Mankar Research Scholar Research Scholar Professor and Head, Dept. of ECE G.H. Raisoni College of Engg. University of Mysore Government Polytechnic Nagpur, Maharashtra, India Manasa Gangotri, Mysore, India Brahmapuri, Nagpur, Maharashtra sherfuddin.phd@gmail.com shankumacharla@gmail.com vhmankar@gmail.com Abstract: A 2D honeycomb image is a hexagonal array of what are called pixels and the pixel values represent intensity or color information of the corresponding digital image at various positions addressed by zig-zag and column numbers. A 2D image could also be informally called as image honeycomb or an arrangement of pixel values in a hexagonal array. A 3D hexagonal prism lattice image is viewed as an ordered sequence of 2D image honeycombs arranged in the z-direction and the 3D arrangement of voxel values is called a hexagonal prism lattice of voxel values. Most of the 3D hexagonal prism lattice image processing operations are similar to those of 2D image honeycomb processing. 3D images are processed with the help of 3D scanning windows, whereas 2D images are processed with the help of 2D scanning windows. A digital image defined over a hexagonal prism lattice has better curvilinear properties when compared to an image defined over a rectangular prism lattice. Processing of hexagonal lattice based images cannot be carried out using simple rectangular 2D or 3D scanning mask. This paper describes a special type of hexagonal lattice based scanning masks for processing such images. As a special case study, edge detection and skeletonization of 3D hexagonal prism lattice images are presented. Keywords: Hexagonal prism lattices, 3D image processing, 3D edge detection, 3D skeletonization 1. INTRODUCTION In spite of the fact that hexagonal images offer better curvilinear properties, one would hardly find any real life hexagonal image, be it a scanned image or a captured image, since there is no hexagonal lattice based scanner or camera or display monitor and thus it is impossible even to think about hexagonal lattice based images. It is in this situation, a novel idea of simulating hexagonal lattice based images over rectangular lattices was initiated.[1][2] A simulated hexagonal lattice image over a 2D rectangular lattice is called ‘image honeycomb’. Unfortunately extension of 2D hexagonal lattice to 3D hexagonal lattice is not possible because traditional geometry does not support this. So, an alternative technique has been tried to simulate a semi hexagonal 3D lattice which is called 3D hexagonal prism lattice. One can simulate 3D hexagonal prism lattice by stacking 2D honeycomb lattices in the Z-direction. This amounts to saying that the resulting lattice is a semi 3D lattice. A 3D image represented over 3D hexagonal prism lattice is a simulated hexagonal prism lattice image. Processing of a simulated 3D hexagonal prism lattice image is carried out by scanning it with a 3D hexagonal prism lattice window consisting of 21 hexagonal prisms. Fig. 1 shows a model of 21 neighborhood 3D hexagonal prism lattice. Fig. 1: 21- neighborhood 3D hexagonal scanning window A 3D hexagonal prism is shown in Fig. 2. This could also be called as 3D hexagonal voxel. 2016 2nd International Conference on Next Generation Computing Technologies (NGCT-2016) Dehradun, India 14-16 October 2016 978-1-5090-3257-0/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE 790