Visualize differences between two images

asked 2019-05-17 04:21:45 -0600

ILikeCheapWater gravatar image

updated 2019-05-17 04:47:52 -0600

I have two images and would like to make it obvious where the differences are. I want to add color to the two images such that a user can clearly spot all the differences within a second or two.

For example, here are two images with a few differences:

leftImage.jpg:

first image

rightImage.jpg:

second image

My current approach to make the differences obvious, is to create a mask (difference between the two images), color it red, and then add it to the images. The goal is to clearly mark all differences with a strong red color. Here is my current code:

import cv2

# load images
image1 = cv2.imread("leftImage.jpg")
image2 = cv2.imread("rightImage.jpg")

# compute difference
difference = cv2.subtract(image1, image2)

# color the mask red
Conv_hsv_Gray = cv2.cvtColor(difference, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY)
ret, mask = cv2.threshold(Conv_hsv_Gray, 0, 255,cv2.THRESH_BINARY_INV |cv2.THRESH_OTSU)
difference[mask != 255] = [0, 0, 255]

# add the red mask to the images to make the differences obvious
image1[mask != 255] = [0, 0, 255]
image2[mask != 255] = [0, 0, 255]

# store images
cv2.imwrite('diffOverImage1.png', image1)
cv2.imwrite('diffOverImage2.png', image1)
cv2.imwrite('diff.png', difference)

diff.png:

enter image description here

diffOverImage1.png

enter image description here

diffOverImage2.png

enter image description here

Problem with the current code: The computed mask shows some differences but not all of them (see for example the tiny piece in the upper right corner, or the rope thingy on the blue packet). These differences are shown only very lightly in the computed mask, but they should be clearly red like the other differences.

Input: 2 images with some differences.

Output: 3 images: the two input images but with the differences highlighted (clearly highlighted in a configurable color), and a third image containing only the differences (the mask).

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