Continuous piecewise affine transformation for image registration

The image registration problem involves determining a geometric transformation to properly align images of interest. This paper proposes a transformation approach called Continuous Piecewise Affine Transformation (CPAT) to model the geometric distortion in images. The associated design methodology for the 2D registration problem is also discussed. Registration on CPAT has two advantages: (1) The optimal transformation has a closed form analytical solution; and (2) the transformation is invertible and transitive. Because of these advantages, CPAT could be used for real-time registration and progressive registration, where the registration speed and transitivity property are important for the successful completion of the tasks. The results of experiments demonstrate the efficacy of CPAT in resolving the image registration problem.