An edge in an image marks the point where intensity levels change significantly, defining boundaries within the image. Edges are crucial in image processing, as they highlight areas of strong intensity contrast, aiding in feature extraction and object recognition. The Sobel edge detector is a common method for detecting edges, employing 3×3 convolution masks to estimate gradients in both the x and y directions. By calculating the magnitude of these gradients, the detector identifies edge points. Another prominent edge detection algorithm is the Canny edge detector, known for its low error rate and accurate localization of edges through multiple processing steps.
