Analysis of the least median of squares estimator for computer vision applications

The robust least-median-of-squares (LMedS) estimator, which can recover a model representing only half the data points, was recently introduced in computer vision. Image data, however, is usually also corrupted by a zero-mean random process (noise) accounting for the measurement uncertainties. It is shown that in the presence of significant noise, LMedS loses its high breakdown point property. A different, two-stage approach in which the uncertainty due to noise is reduced before applying the simplest LMedS procedure is proposed. The superior performance of the technique is proved by comparative graphs