Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Computer Engineering and Applications Journal

Quantum-inspired method for edge detection of image

Guangping Xu

Published Jan 1, 2008• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The grey scale of the pixels in image is expressed by quantum bit and the relation between two pixels is described by means of the superposition of two quantum bit in this paper.Based on this,the average of linear hermitian operator in this superposition can be used for judging the edge of image and a new method for edge detection of image is so created.The rationality of the method is interpreted by probability theory here.A function of this new edge detecting method to compensate defect of human’s vision is proved theoretically and is verified in computer simulation.The edge caused by tiny change in grey scale of pixel in high or low grey scale area of image can be detected by using this method.

Related papers

Quantum-inspired image decomposition and edge detection

Wusheng Xu

A new approach based on quantum theory for the decomposition of image was proposed in this paper.An image can be decomposed into a series of characteristic sub-images according to the relation between the pixels built by means of a superposition of states in quantum mechanics in this approach.The characteristics of these sub-images were analyzed and a rule used to generate an operator for the detection of image edge was given on the basis of this.A new algorithm for image edge detection was proposed with the rule.The computer simulation results show the effectiveness of the rule and the superiority of the algorithm proposed here.

Journal of Computer Applications•Jan 1, 2013•1 citation

Edge detection algorithm based on quantum superposition principle and photons arrival probability

Ayoub Ezzaki, Lhoussaine Masmoudi, Mohamed El Ansari +3 more

The detection of object edges in images is a crucial step employed in a vast amount of computer vision applications, for which a series of different algorithms has been developed in the last decades. This paper proposes a new edge detection method based on quantum information, which is achieved in two main steps: (i) an image enhancement stage that employs the quantum superposition law and (ii) an edge detection stage based on the probability of photon arrival to the camera sensor. The proposed method has been tested on synthetic and real images devoted to agriculture applications, where Fram & Deutsh criterion has been adopted to evaluate its performance. The results show that the proposed method gives better results in terms of detection quality and computation time compared to classical edge detection algorithms such as Sobel, Kayyali, Canny and a more recent algorithm based on Shannon entropy.

International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE)•Mar 8, 2020•10 citations

Identification of Image Edge Using Quantum Canny Edge Detection Algorithm

Dini Sundani, Sigit Widiyanto, Yuli Karyanti +1 more

Identification of image edges using edge detection is done to obtain images that are sharp and clear. The selection of the edge detection algorithm will affect the result. Canny operators have an advantage compared to other edge detection operators because of their ability to detect not only strong edges but also weak edges. Until now, Canny edge detection has been done using classical computing where data are expressed in bits, 0 or 1. This paper proposes the identification of image edges using a quantum Canny edge detection algorithm, where data are expressed in the form of quantum bits (qubits). Besides 0 or 1, a value can also be 0 and 1 simultaneously so there will be many more possible values that can be obtained. There are three stages in the proposed method, namely the input image stage, the preprocessing stage, and the quantum edge detection stage. Visually, the results show that quantum Canny edge detection can detect more edges compared to classic Canny edge detection, with an average increase of 4.05%.

Journal of ICT Research and Applications•Sep 30, 2019•31 citations

A hybrid quantum image edge detector for the NISQ era

Alexander Geng, Ali Moghiseh, Claudia Redenbach +1 more

Abstract Edges are image locations where the gray value intensity changes suddenly. They are among the most important features to understand and segment an image. Edge detection is a standard task in digital image processing, solved, for example, using filtering techniques. However, the amount of data to be processed grows rapidly and pushes even supercomputers to their limits. Quantum computing promises exponentially lower memory usage in terms of the number of qubits compared to the number of classical bits. In this paper, we propose a hybrid method for quantum edge detection based on the idea of a quantum artificial neuron. Our method can be practically implemented on quantum computers, especially on those of the current noisy intermediate-scale quantum era. We compare six variants of the method to reduce the number of circuits and thus the time required for the quantum edge detection. Taking advantage of the scalability of our method, we can practically detect edges in images considerably larger than reached before.

arXiv:2203.12072•Quantum Machine Intelligence•Jun 23, 2022•21 citations

Demonstration of Quantum Image Edge Extration Enhancement Through Improved Sobel Operator

Yulin Ma, Hongyang Ma, Peng-Cheng Chu

Quantum image processing is a system where both quantum computing and image processings are key. Now it is required to investigate how to apply image processing concepts such as image edge detection and improved Sobel operator, to quantum image processing. Just as traditional image processing helps to image manipulation, our efforts in quantum image processing contribute to the further development of quantum algorithm and quantum information theory. Edge detection is an important problem in traditional image processing, and image edge detection algorithm can filter image edge features and retain important attributes. We proposed a quantum edge detection algorithm, which employs improved Sobel operator to improve the performance, so as to solve the problem of unsatisfactory traditional image edge detection methods. In practical application, the amount of image data to be processed increases sharply, and the computing power of classical computer becomes a limitation. Quantum information processing can effectively accelerate many classical problems by virtue of quantum mechanical characteristics, such as quantum superposition, entanglement, parallelism. Our proposed method uses the novel enhanced quantum representation to store quantum images, which stores all the pixels in the image in a superimposed state, realizing parallel computation. The improved eight-direction Sobel operator is used to calculate the gray gradient, and the quantum circuit is designed to realize quantum edge detection. Simulation results have shown that our algorithm can extract edge with dimension 2n× 2nwhen the computational complexity is O(n2+ 2q+3). The improved algorithm can detect more edge details and has strong adaptability.

IEEE Access•Jan 1, 2020•51 citations

A Fully Quantum Algorithm for Image Edge Detection

Fred Sun

This work introduces a novel quantum algorithm for gradient-based edge detection that operates entirely within the quantum circuit model. Grayscale images are encoded using the Novel Enhanced Quantum Representation (NEQR), allowing exact arithmetic on pixel intensities. Directional gradients are computed by generating superpositions of neighboring pixels via cyclic shift operations and performing subtraction with an exact quantum arithmetic circuit. To refine accuracy, we introduce a direction-aware shifting mechanism that aligns edges with the darker side of intensity transitions. Our novel Quantum Partitioning Algorithm enables efficient in-place thresholding of edge candidates. This work exhibits polynomial-time improvements and optimizes the ancilla count compared to previous NEQR-based quantum edge detection algorithms. These results demonstrate a resource-efficient and fully quantum approach to edge detection, highlighting a practical quantum advantage in image processing.

quant-pharXiv:2604.23535•Apr 28, 2026•0 citations
The grey scale of the pixels in image is expressed by quantum bit and the relation between two pixels is described by means of the superposition of two quantum bit in this paper.Based on this,the average of linear hermitian operator in this superposition can be used for judging the edge of image and a new method for edge detection of image is so created.The rationality of the method is interpreted by probability theory here.A function of this new edge detecting method to compensate defect of human’s vision is proved theoretically and is verified in computer simulation.The edge caused by tiny change in grey scale of pixel in high or low grey scale area of image can be detected by using this method.
A new approach based on quantum theory for the decomposition of image was proposed in this paper.An image can be decomposed into a series of characteristic sub-images according to the relation between the pixels built by means of a superposition of states in quantum mechanics in this approach.The characteristics of these sub-images were analyzed and a rule used to generate an operator for the detection of image edge was given on the basis of this.A new algorithm for image edge detection was proposed with the rule.The computer simulation results show the effectiveness of the rule and the superiority of the algorithm proposed here.
The detection of object edges in images is a crucial step employed in a vast amount of computer vision applications, for which a series of different algorithms has been developed in the last decades. This paper proposes a new edge detection method based on quantum information, which is achieved in two main steps: (i) an image enhancement stage that employs the quantum superposition law and (ii) an edge detection stage based on the probability of photon arrival to the camera sensor. The proposed method has been tested on synthetic and real images devoted to agriculture applications, where Fram & Deutsh criterion has been adopted to evaluate its performance. The results show that the proposed method gives better results in terms of detection quality and computation time compared to classical edge detection algorithms such as Sobel, Kayyali, Canny and a more recent algorithm based on Shannon entropy.
Identification of image edges using edge detection is done to obtain images that are sharp and clear. The selection of the edge detection algorithm will affect the result. Canny operators have an advantage compared to other edge detection operators because of their ability to detect not only strong edges but also weak edges. Until now, Canny edge detection has been done using classical computing where data are expressed in bits, 0 or 1. This paper proposes the identification of image edges using a quantum Canny edge detection algorithm, where data are expressed in the form of quantum bits (qubits). Besides 0 or 1, a value can also be 0 and 1 simultaneously so there will be many more possible values that can be obtained. There are three stages in the proposed method, namely the input image stage, the preprocessing stage, and the quantum edge detection stage. Visually, the results show that quantum Canny edge detection can detect more edges compared to classic Canny edge detection, with an average increase of 4.05%.
Abstract Edges are image locations where the gray value intensity changes suddenly. They are among the most important features to understand and segment an image. Edge detection is a standard task in digital image processing, solved, for example, using filtering techniques. However, the amount of data to be processed grows rapidly and pushes even supercomputers to their limits. Quantum computing promises exponentially lower memory usage in terms of the number of qubits compared to the number of classical bits. In this paper, we propose a hybrid method for quantum edge detection based on the idea of a quantum artificial neuron. Our method can be practically implemented on quantum computers, especially on those of the current noisy intermediate-scale quantum era. We compare six variants of the method to reduce the number of circuits and thus the time required for the quantum edge detection. Taking advantage of the scalability of our method, we can practically detect edges in images considerably larger than reached before.
Quantum image processing is a system where both quantum computing and image processings are key. Now it is required to investigate how to apply image processing concepts such as image edge detection and improved Sobel operator, to quantum image processing. Just as traditional image processing helps to image manipulation, our efforts in quantum image processing contribute to the further development of quantum algorithm and quantum information theory. Edge detection is an important problem in traditional image processing, and image edge detection algorithm can filter image edge features and retain important attributes. We proposed a quantum edge detection algorithm, which employs improved Sobel operator to improve the performance, so as to solve the problem of unsatisfactory traditional image edge detection methods. In practical application, the amount of image data to be processed increases sharply, and the computing power of classical computer becomes a limitation. Quantum information processing can effectively accelerate many classical problems by virtue of quantum mechanical characteristics, such as quantum superposition, entanglement, parallelism. Our proposed method uses the novel enhanced quantum representation to store quantum images, which stores all the pixels in the image in a superimposed state, realizing parallel computation. The improved eight-direction Sobel operator is used to calculate the gray gradient, and the quantum circuit is designed to realize quantum edge detection. Simulation results have shown that our algorithm can extract edge with dimension 2n× 2nwhen the computational complexity is O(n2+ 2q+3). The improved algorithm can detect more edge details and has strong adaptability.
This work introduces a novel quantum algorithm for gradient-based edge detection that operates entirely within the quantum circuit model. Grayscale images are encoded using the Novel Enhanced Quantum Representation (NEQR), allowing exact arithmetic on pixel intensities. Directional gradients are computed by generating superpositions of neighboring pixels via cyclic shift operations and performing subtraction with an exact quantum arithmetic circuit. To refine accuracy, we introduce a direction-aware shifting mechanism that aligns edges with the darker side of intensity transitions. Our novel Quantum Partitioning Algorithm enables efficient in-place thresholding of edge candidates. This work exhibits polynomial-time improvements and optimizes the ancilla count compared to previous NEQR-based quantum edge detection algorithms. These results demonstrate a resource-efficient and fully quantum approach to edge detection, highlighting a practical quantum advantage in image processing.