Symmetry constraint for foreground extraction.

Symmetry as an intrinsic shape property is often observed in natural objects. In this paper, we discuss how explicitly taking into account the symmetry constraint can enhance the quality of foreground object extraction. In our method, a symmetry foreground map is used to represent the symmetry structure of the image, which includes the symmetry matching magnitude and the foreground location prior. Then, the symmetry constraint model is built by introducing this symmetry structure into the graph-based segmentation function. Finally, the segmentation result is obtained via graph cuts. Our method encourages objects with symmetric parts to be consistently extracted. Moreover, our symmetry constraint model is applicable to weak symmetric objects under the part-based framework. Quantitative and qualitative experimental results on benchmark datasets demonstrate the advantages of our approach in extracting the foreground. Our method also shows improved results in segmenting objects with weak, complex symmetry properties.