Image segmentation using joint clustering analysis of attribute data and relationship data

Attributes of an object contain its fundamental properties. Attribute data is the main source of clustering information. Although relationship data is an extrinsic property of objects and is at least as important as attribute data, most clustering methods process only one type of characteristic data. However, attribute and relationship data must be analyzed together for applications such as market segmentation, social network segmentation, and image segmentation. In this study we describe a new algorithm that combines attribute and relationship data for joint clustering analysis. An experimental evaluation demonstrates the usefulness and accuracy of the proposed algorithm when applied to image segmentation.