Integral Curvature Representation and Matching Algorithms for Identification of Dolphins and Whales

Understand

We address the problem of identifying individual cetaceans from images showing the trailing edge of their fins.

• Given the trailing edge from an unknown individual, we produce a ranking of known individuals from a database.
• The nicks and notches along the trailing edge define an individual's unique signature.
• We define a representation based on integral curvature that is robust to changes in viewpoint and pose, and captures the pattern of nicks and notches in a local neighborhood at multiple scales.