Parallel Relaxation Algorithms For The Statistical Analysis Of Visual Motion

The present paper is concerned with the study of parallel approaches for the relaxation algorithms associated to Markov Random Fields (MRF) models in image analysis, [2]. MRF-based relaxation algorithms are known to be intrinsically parallel and massive parallelizations by updating at once independent variables of the field have been early described, [4]. We present here a different approach based on relaxation algorithms running in parallel at different "scales" and interacting periodically. The proposed approach is based on parallel Markov chains which have been studied by Aarts et al., [l], and Graffigne, [3], for global optimization using simulated annealing. In our method, parallel Markov chains are coupled with a new multiscale exploration of the configuration space for MRF. This multiscale exploration can be implemented efficiently by considering a sequence of multiresolution MRF models whose parameters and neighborhood structures are obtained from the original MRF model. The designed algorithm is suited for MIMD computers and can be outlined as follows. First MRF models at different scales are computed from the original MRF model. The relaxations at different scales are stochastic and cooperative : every p iterations - one iteration corresponding to a full sweep on the image - a processor attempts to transfer local estimates to the processor controlling the next finer scale. With the low resolution levels of the hierarchy are associated high temperatures in the stochastic relaxation, [3]. A high temperature allows to escape from local minima of the energy function. With the intermediate resolution levels are associated lower temperatures. At these levels, the relaxation process becomes more sensitive to local minima and visits the large or medium size valleys of the energy landscape. At the finest resolution level deterministic relaxation is adopted : the estimation is ultimately refined at that level. The proposed parallelization approach is compared to sequential deterministic and stochastic relaxation in the context of optical flow estimation. The multiscale algorithm exhibits fast convergence properties, comparable to multigrid deterministic relaxation, and the obtained estimates are close to the near optimal solutions obtained by time consuming sequential stochastic methods.