Get time from the clock image in Matlab - Image Processing

I am wondering to know how I can read time from an image in matlan, Can anybody help me?

[Walter Roberson]

Sample images would help. For example are the clocks analog or digital? Is it a 12 hour clock, a 24 hour clock, a novelty bar clock (that runs backwards), a metric clock (10 total periods per day), a clock that outputs in binary?

[sareh]

Its is a clock analoge

[Walter Roberson]

So for example it would look like this?

http://www.oliverbothwell.co.uk/img/thumbs/clock2.gif

Is noon / midnight always going to be "up" in the image, or will the images appear with different rotations?

[sareh]

yes, you are right, you know how to solve it with matlab

[sareh]

The image will be up for noon/midnight

[Jan]

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/22514-bvrclock

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/22702-xpc-target-wall-time

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/2263-superclock

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/9671-3d-clock-with-geartrain

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/29008-tix-clock

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/15534-bouncy-ball-clock

[Sean de Wolski]

Can you show us a sample clock?

[sareh]

Walter Roberson already put a link which is the one I search for : http://www.oliverbothwell.co.uk/img/thumbs/clock2.gif

[Walter Roberson]

I suggest you take a close look at that clock image, Sareh.

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

Please see this previous discussion: http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/newsreader/view_thread/278943

Posting sample images of your own is recommended; please see http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/7924-where-can-i-upload-images-and-files-for-use-on-matlab-answers

[sareh]

Thank you very much, but the idea is to do it by coding not a function directly on matlab,

[sareh]

I mean, I dont know how to start the idea to do this algorithm and find out the length of each handle and reading time

[Walter Roberson]

Dave Robinson's answer in that thread describes how to do it by coding.

[sareh]

I have found the file, thank you very much,

[Sparsh Raj]

The link for the thread is not working.

[Image Analyst]

@Sparsh Raj, the link for "Posting sample images" via a third party web site no longer applies. Now you can attach your images right here, in the MATLAB Answers forum, with the paperclip icon, or insert them into the body of your post with the frame icon. So, consequently we will not repair the link or find a susbtitute since that way of including pictures is no longer needed.

[Walter Roberson]

The newsreader thread does not work though...

[Walter Roberson]

Are the images analog or digital?

I did find an old Dave Robinson thread about reading times from digital images; https://comp.soft-sys.matlab.narkive.com/d3iOKQ51/extracting-numbers-from-an-image

[Sparsh Raj]

@Walter Robinson the images are of analog clocks

[Image Analyst]

Since the hands could be at virtually any relative angle, but you know that they touch at the center, I'd be tempted to try to train a neural network to find them, and even to predict the time.

Answer 2

[Image Analyst]

Depending on the clock image(s), this could be very easy. You could just extract two circles and detect where the hands cross the circles. Of course this could get very complicated for watch faces that have a lot of clutter on them such as patterns, extra dials and hands, etc. It's best if you just upload 3 or 4 of your practice/test images so we can see what you're working with. You haven't done that yet despite two requests (now three) for you to do so.

[sareh]

I am learning image processing and I am wonder to know how to get time from a clock, I have uploaded one image here, http://www.sendspace.com/file/dimz27