Objective measurement of pilling by image processing technique
International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology
ISSN: 0955-6222
Article publication date: 1 October 2005
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on a new pilling measurement system that has been developed using image processing technique.
Design/methodology/approach
A pilling assessment cabinet is designed and developed which captures images and a software is developed to process and analyze the image of a pilled fabric to find out the various pilling parameters such as total number of pills, total area of the pills, mean area and number of pills per unit area. The image processing software processed image data of both the existing subjective assessment standards and pilled fabrics and assign suitable grades for comparison.
Findings
The grades assigned by the machine correlates well with that of the experts grades and the results are reliably reproducible. The system can count the number of pills, find their total area, and their mean area. The results of EMPA‐W2 and EMPA‐W3 standards behave almost similar. The ASTM standards also gives somewhat the same results as the EMPA standards in number of pills but has a wide variation in the pilled area and mean pill area. The IWS standards produced an entirely different result from the other two standards, which leads us to the conclusion that all these standards are not objectively comparable to each other.
Practical implications
The machine grade becomes a suitable methodology to compare the different grading systems.
Originality/value
Traditional pilling tests are subjective by nature. Moreover, standards set by different organizations are not comparable with each other. This method presents a more universal and objective approach to describe the nature of the pilling.
Keywords
Citation
Behera, B.K. and Madan Mohan, T.E. (2005), "Objective measurement of pilling by image processing technique", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 17 No. 5, pp. 279-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/09556220510616156
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited